Study shows that low levels of the chemical boost depression symptoms

Jun 27, 2012 06:58 GMT  ·  By

In a small-scale study conducted on just three women, investigators at the Bayhealth Medical Center, in Dover, Delaware, found that augmenting the patients' vitamin D levels led to a significant decrease in the intensity of their depressive symptoms.

All these women suffered from moderate to severe depression, and all were found to have a vitamin D deficiency, the team explains. At this point, researchers don't know too much about the effects that this chemical has on mood and the human brain, but the influence appears to be real.

Endocrinologist Sonal Pathak, MD, believes that confirming this link could lead to a radical shift in the way we treat depression. Rather than using neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitors, doctors could simply prescribe a vitamin D-rich diet that could help people balance their mental states.

“Screening at-risk depressed patients for vitamin D deficiency and treating it appropriately may be an easy and cost-effective adjunct to mainstream therapies for depression,” the expert adds, quoted by PsychCentral.