Vitamin D level linked to depression

Low serum levels of vitamin D are associated with clinically significant symptoms of depression in otherwise healthy individuals, a new study from Psychiatry Research shows.

Making a series of assessments of healthy women during a 1-month period, investigators found that more than one third of participants had depressive symptoms, that almost half had vitamin D insufficiency, and that depressive symptoms were predicted by vitamin D levels.

Noting that vitamin D supplementation is a low-cost, simple, and low-risk intervention, the authors state, "Given the lifespan health risks associated with insufficiency, supplementation is warranted whether or not the modest role of vitamin D in depression observed here generalizes more broadly."