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Vitamin D Supplementation Ameliorates Severity of Major Depressive Disorder

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Abstract

Major depressive disorder is a serious neuropsychiatric disease that leads to significant impairment in social functioning and increased morbidity and mortality. Low vitamin D (25-OH D) levels have been hypothesized to contribute to the pathophysiology of MDD. To investigate the therapeutic role of vitamin D in MDD, we recruited 62 male and female patients diagnosed with MDD and randomized them into two groups: the first group (49 patients) received vitamin D supplementation as cholecalciferol vitamin D3 (50,000 I.U.) for 3 months, in addition to standard of care (SOC) which included pharmacological treatment and psychological support, and the second group (13 patients) received only SOC without vitamin D supplementation for 3 months. The Beck depression inventory (BDI) scale was used to assess the severity of MDD symptoms. Immunoassays were utilized to determine levels of serum vitamin D3 and serotonin in all patients. The results showed significant gender differences; female patients showed the most improvement in their depressive symptoms after 3-month vitamin D supplementation. Females with moderate, severe, and extreme depression had significantly lower BDI scores after vitamin D treatment (p < 0.05). Among males, only those diagnosed with severe depression showed significant improvement in their BDI scores (p < 0.05). Serum serotonin levels were significantly increased after vitamin D supplementation compared to baseline in both male and female patients. No significant changes in other biochemical parameters were detected between the two groups. These findings suggest that vitamin D supplementation may ameliorate symptoms of MDD, particularly in females, via a serotonin-dependent mechanism.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the deanship of scientific research (DSR). This work was supported by the deanship of scientific research (DSR) – King Abdulaziz University – Saudi Arabia under Grant [G: RG: 40-130-22].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Shareefa Alghamdi, Nabilah Alsulami, Sawsan Khoja & Hadeil Alsufiani

  2. Vitamin D Pharmacogenomics Research Group, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Shareefa Alghamdi, Sawsan Khoja & Hadeil Alsufiani

  3. Experimental Biochemistry Unit, King Fahad Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Hadeil Alsufiani

  4. Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Haythum O. Tayeb

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Program, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Frank I. Tarazi

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  1. Shareefa Alghamdi
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  2. Nabilah Alsulami
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  3. Sawsan Khoja
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  4. Hadeil Alsufiani
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Correspondence to Shareefa Alghamdi.

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Alghamdi, S., Alsulami, N., Khoja, S. et al. Vitamin D Supplementation Ameliorates Severity of Major Depressive Disorder. J Mol Neurosci 70, 230–235 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-019-01461-2

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