Posted on 03/19/2009 11:03:19 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A lack of Vitamin D, due to reduced sunlight, has been linked to depression and the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but research by the University of Warwick shows there is no clear link between the levels of vitamin D in the blood and depression.
Exposure to sunlight stimulates vitamin D in the skin and a shortage of sunlight in the winter has been put forward as one possible cause of SAD. However Warwick Medical School researchers, led by Dr Oscar Franco, have discovered low levels of vitamin D in the blood may not be connected to depression.
The team recruited more than 3,000 people to the study and tested levels of vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) in the blood. They then carried out a questionnaire with the participants to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms.
Vitamin D deficiency exists when the concentration of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH-D) in the blood serum occurs at 12ng/ml (nanograms/millilitre) or less. The normal concentration of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D in the blood serum is 25-50ng/ml.
The researchers found there was no clear association between depressive symptoms and the concentration of vitamin D in the blood.
Dr Oscar Franco, Assistant Clinical Professor in Public Health, said: "Few studies have explored the association between blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and depression in the general population. A deficiency of vitamin D has also been attributed to several chronic diseases, including osteoporosis, common cancers, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases."
This study was carried out in collaboration with colleagues from the Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences in China.
The team recruited 3,262 community residents aged 50-70 from Beijing and Shanghai in China as part of the Nutrition and Health of Aging Population in China (NHAPC) project.
Dr Franco said his study did not evaluate whether the depressive symptoms were seasonal and suggested more studies needed to be done.
Dr Franco said: "Previous studies into the effects of vitamin D supplementation have produced mixed results. More studies are still needed to evaluate whether vitamin D is associated with seasonal affective disorders, but our study does raise questions about the effects of taking more vitamin D to combat depressive symptoms."
Sunlight makes me happy!! Let’s start there.
Lol, think I'll put on my bikini and go lie out in the sunshine, snicker, choke!
D-R-I-N-K M-O-R-E O-V-A-L-T-I-N-E
Whoa, back this bus up, partner.
First, the article claims that the research shows there is no clear link between Vit D levels and SAD. Then, in the next to last paragraph, there’s this contradiction:
“Dr Franco said his study did not evaluate whether the depressive symptoms were seasonal and suggested more studies needed to be done.”
So, which is it?
This has some serious flaws. To start with, isolating Vitamin D both assumes too much and too little about the vitamin and its interactions in a complex biological system.
To start with, while sunlight does result in an increase of Vitamin D, that is not its only physiological effect on blood chemistry. This association has been well established, since sunlight has more effect on areas of the body with more capillaries closer to the surface of the skin.
It is also known that a breakdown product of Vitamin D is a blood acid with an erosive effect on the outer coatings of at least some major pathogenic viruses. Vitamin D has interactive effects on the body salts, especially Calcium, which in turn effects Sodium, Potassium, and Iodine levels, all of which have strong nervous system and hormonal effects.
So it is no surprise that just examining Vitamin D levels isn’t going to reveal much of anything. There are too many other variables at play.
If I put my bikini on it would make everyone else in the neighborhood SAD!
A strong aura protects against many things. ;^)
[If I put my bikini on it would make everyone else in the neighborhood SAD!]
Lol, I thought of that and besides - I don’t have a bikini!!
?? A clear correlation between below-normal 25-OH-D levels and depression would be very revealing. It would lead to the next step, of seeing whether supplementing to raise the level had a clear correlation with diminishing symptoms of depression. Unfortunately, the research found no clear correlation between low 25-OH-D levels and depression.
Phyllis Diller, is that you?
Well, it could be that Vitamin D is not the mechanism that has the benefit. Or that their supplement isn’t equal to getting Vitamin D through sunlight.
Not me, it must be kcvl!!
nick, the article doesn’t support the headline. That’s the point.
.
Gumbo cures all.......
Seratonin supplement helps with winter time blues.
[Gumbo cures all.......]
You look good in a bikini?? LOL
That’s pretty much my point. It’s not an either-or situation, but one variable in a very complex system.
I would be hard pressed to even list the major collections of variables in something as complex as a neurological condition. Neurotransmitters, hormone levels, body salts, vitamins, liver function, blood pH and other factors.
Yes, Vitamin D almost certainly has some effect, but how, in who, how much, over what time, etc.
I know I felt better in winter using full spectrcum lights, but nothing beats sunlight. Unfortunately, my state is banning full spectrum lights.
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