Depression 30 percent less likely if more than 30 ng of vitamin D – March 2015

Low Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations Are Associated with Increased Likelihood of Having Depressive Symptoms among Japanese Workers.

J Nutr. 2015 Mar;145(3):541-6. doi: 10.3945/jn.114.204115. Epub 2014 Dec 31.
Mizoue T1, Kochi T2, Akter S3, Eguchi M2, Kurotani K3, Tsuruoka H2, Kuwahara K4, Ito R2, Kabe I2, Nanri A3.

BACKGROUND:
Accumulating evidence suggests a protective role of vitamin D against mood disorders; however, epidemiologic studies are scarce in working populations.

OBJECTIVE:
We investigated cross-sectionally the association of serum vitamin D status and depressive symptoms among Japanese workers.

METHODS:
Participants were 1786 employees (9% women), aged 19-69 y, who received health check-ups and participated in a nutrition and health survey. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations were measured with the use of a competitive protein binding assay. Depressive symptoms were assessed by using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Logistic regression was used to estimate ORs with adjustment for potential confounding variables including dietary factors.

RESULTS:
Overall, 92% of study participants had suboptimal vitamin D status [25(OH)D <30 μg/L]. Depressive symptoms were inversely associated with 25(OH)D. Compared with those with a 25(OH)D concentration of <20 μg/L, multivariable-adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for depressive symptoms (CES-D scale score ≥16) were 0.75 (0.59, 0.95) and 0.66 (0.41, 1.06) for those with a 25(OH)D concentration of 20-29 μg/L and ≥30 μg/L, respectively (P-trend = 0.01). After further adjustment for leisure-time physical activity and shift work (factors closely related to photo-initiated vitamin D production), the OR (95% CI) for the highest category of 25(OH)D was 0.70 (0.43, 1.14). The association between 25(OH)D and depressive symptoms appears to be linear, according to restricted cubic spline regression.

CONCLUSION:
Results suggest that lower concentrations of circulating vitamin D are associated with increased likelihood of having depressive symptoms among apparently healthy workers.

© 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

PMID: 25733470

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