From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-343882-650033
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.