Volume 28, Issue 148, June 2024

Exploring the relationship between depression and vitamin D supplementation in vitamin D deficient and insufficient patients: Review of the literature

Marcin Głód^1♦, Kinga Filipek², Hanna Behrendt², Agata Pisklak², Marta Węgrzynek²

¹Mazowiecki Szpital Bródnowski Sp. z o.o., Kondratowicza 8, 03-242 Warsaw, Poland
²Międzyleski Specialist Hospital, Bursztynowa 2, 04-749 Warsaw, Poland

^♦Corresponding Author
Mazowiecki Szpital Bródnowski Sp. z o.o., Kondratowicza 8, 03-242 Warsaw, Poland

ABSTRACT

Aim: We conducted this review of the literature to assess the available knowledge on vitamin D supplementation in vitamin D deficient and insufficient patients suffering from depression. Methods: We used the PubMed database to search for the articles. After applying the inclusion criteria, we selected ten eligible articles. We presented our results in two forms, a table and a summary, containing crucial information about each article. Results: Out of the ten articles, five supported the positive effect of vitamin D supplementation on depression severity; five of them were against it, although in some positive relationships between other indices, for example, anxiety severity, were described. Limitations: The major limitation of the articles we investigated was the relatively small sample size; in most articles, less than 70 participants completed the study. Moreover, different authors used different standardized rating scales of depression; in total, five scales were used; thus, it could impact the comparability of the results. Not all patients that were supplementing vitamin D reached the threshold of vitamin D sufficiency; hence, further research should consider ending the trial not at a set time but after all the participants receiving the intervention would become vitamin D sufficient. Conclusions: The literature remains equivocal about the investigated topic. Further research needs to be conducted to investigate the effect of supplementing vitamin D in vitamin D deficient and insufficient patients suffering from depression.

Keywords: Vitamin D deficiency; vitamin D insufficiency; vitamin D supplementation; depression; major depressive disorder.

Medical Science, 2024, 28, e61ms3367

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v28i148.e61ms3367

Published: 25 June 2024