From the [Vitamin D Council]:
Vitamin D and Depression (excerpts)
Does Vitamin D Affect The Brain?
Vitamin D rapidly increases the in-vitro genetic expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (the rate-limiting enzyme for the catecholamine biosynthesis) by threefold. Puchacz E, Stumpf WE, Stachowiak EK, Stachowiak MKVitamin D increases expression of the tyrosine hydroxylase gene in adrenal medullary cells.Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 1996 Feb;36(1):193–6.
Summer sunlight increases brain serotonin levels twice as much as winter sunlight, a finding compatible with both bright light in the visible spectrum and vitamin D affecting mood. Lambert GW, Reid C, Kaye DM, Jennings GL, Esler MDEffect of sunlight and season on serotonin turnover in the brain.Lancet. 2002 Dec 7;360(9348):1840–2.
Vitamin D is widely involved in brain function with nuclear receptors for vitamin D localized in neurons and glial cells. Genes encoding the enzymes involved in the metabolism of vitamin D are expressed in brain cells. The reported biological effects of vitamin D in the nervous system include the biosynthesis of neurotrophic factors, inhibition of the synthesis of inducible nitric oxide synthase and increased glutathione levels, suggesting a role for the hormone in brain detoxification pathways. Garcion E, Wion-Barbot N, Montero-Menei CN, Berger F, Wion DNew clues about vitamin D functions in the nervous system.Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Apr;13(3):100–5.
Evidence suggests that vitamin D may help mood but that evidence is not conclusive. (Remember, the way our medical literature system works, scientists often do not publish negative studies). The two positive studies above used vitamin D to treat seasonal affective disorder, not major depression. We were unable to find any studies in the literature in which patients with depression were treated with enough natural sunlight, artificial sunlight or plain old cholecalciferol to raise their levels to 35 ng/mL or higher. We all know how we feel after a week at the beach, but is that bright light, vitamin D, or something else?
Evidence exists that major depression is associated with low vitamin D levels and that depression has increased in the last century as vitamin D levels have surely fallen. Evidence exists that depression is associated with heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and low bone mineral density, all illnesses thought to be caused, in part, by vitamin D deficiency. Finally, vitamin D has profound effects on the brain including the neurotransmitters involved in major depression.
Further Research Needed
Therefore, vitamin D may help major depression. It is too early to say. To know for sure, patients with severe major depression would have to have baseline 25(OH)D blood levels, be treated with doses of vitamin D adequate to raise their levels to at least 35 ng/mL for several months and be compared to a normal control group treated with placebo. No one has ever published such a study.
However, it is not to early to heed the following advice: If you suffer from depression, get your 25(OH)D level checked and, if it is lower than 35 ng/mL (87 nM/L), you are vitamin D deficient and should begin treatment. If you are not depressed, get your 25(OH)D level checked anyway. If it is lower than 35 ng/mL (87 nM/L), you are vitamin D deficient and should begin treatment.
- John Jacob Cannell MD
Image: [Synthesis of Previtamin D-3]
