Evidence for...Vitamin D for depression

Vitamin D vs broad spectrum phototherapy in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder.
Gloth FM 3rd et al.
J Nutr Health Aging. 1999;3:5-7.
100,000 IU of vitamin D given as a one time oral dose improved depression scales better than light therapy in patients with seasonal affective disorder. All vitamin D recipients improved in all outcome measures and improvement in serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was significantly associated with improvement in depression scale scores.


Vitamin D3 enhances mood in healthy subjects during winter.
Lansdowne AT and Provost SC.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1998;135(4):319-23.
Vitamin D3, given as 400 IU or 800 IU for 5 days, significantly enhanced positive effect and there was some evidence of a reduction in negative affect in healthy individuals, compared with subjects given placebo.


Depression is associated with decreased 25-hydroxyvitamin D and increased parathyroid hormone levels in older adults.
Hoogendijk WJ et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65:508-12.
These researchers measured blood levels of vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) and assessed symptoms of depression in 1282 community residents aged 65-95 years.
Compared with levels in 1087 control individuals, levels of 25(OH)D were 14% lower in 169 persons with minor depression and 14% lower in 26 persons with major depressive disorder ; corresponding levels of PTH were 5% and 33% higher, respectively. Depression severity was significantly associated with decreased serum 25(OH)D levels and increased serum PTH levels.