Health & Fitness - Lack of vitamin D linked to depression

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Lack of vitamin D linked to depression

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (UPI) -- Older adults with low blood levels of vitamin D may be at higher risk for depression, Dutch researchers found.

The study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, also linked depression to high blood levels of a hormone secreted by the parathyroid glands.

The study suggested low blood vitamin D levels and high parathyroid hormone levels can both be treated with higher dietary intake of vitamin D and increased sunlight exposure.

Study leader Dr. Witte Hoogendijk of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam measured blood levels of vitamin D and parathyroid hormone and assessed symptoms of depression among 1,282 community residents age 65 to 95.

Of those individuals, 26 had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, 169 had minor depression and 1,087 were not depressed. The average blood vitamin D level was 21 nanograms per milliliter and the average parathyroid hormone level was 3.6 picograms per milliliter.

Blood vitamin D levels were 14 percent lower in individuals with major and minor depression compared with non-depressed participants. In addition, parathyroid hormone thyroid levels were an average of 5 percent higher in those with minor depression and 33 percent higher in those with major depressive disorder than in those who were not depressed.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 05/06/2008

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