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Serum Concentrations of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Depression in a General Middle-Aged to Elderly Population in Finland

The journal of nutrition, health & aging volume 22, pages 159–164 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives

Low concentrations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] have been postulated to associate with an increased prevalence of depression. As there are a limited number of publications on this issue, we examined the association between serum 25(OH)D and depression in a general middle-aged or older population.

Design

A population-based cross-sectional study.

Setting and participants

A total of 1602 men and women from the population-based Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD) in Eastern Finland, aged 53-73 y in 1998-2001, were analysed.

Measurements

Depressive symptoms were assessed with the DSM-III depression scale, and those individuals who had scores over 4 (range 0-12) or had reported undergoing current antidepressant therapy, were considered as suffering from depression. Associations were estimated in serum 25(OH)D tertiles using logistic regression.

Results

Among the participants, 183 subjects (11.4%) were considered to have depression. The mean age of the subjects was 62.6 years (SD 6.4, range 53.4- 73.8 years). The mean serum 25(OH)D concentration was 43.8 nmol/L (SD 17.7, range 8.5-112.8 nmol/L), concentrations <50 nmol/L were observed in 65.0% of the subjects, and only 5.0% displayed concentrations ≥75 nmol/L. After multivariable adjustments, the odds ratios for having depression in the tertiles (from highest to the lowest) of serum 25(OH)D were 1, 1.35 (95 % CI: 0.87, 2.09) and 1.64 (95 % CI: 1.03, 2.59), P for trend=0.036.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that a lower concentration of serum 25(OH)D is associated with a higher prevalence of depression in an elderly general population.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, P.O.BOX 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland

    M. Vidgren, J. K. Virtanen, T. Nurmi, T.-P. Tuomainen & S. Voutilainen

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, P.O.BOX 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland

    T. Tolmunen

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, P.O.Box 100, FI-70029 KYS, Kuopio, Finland

    Anu Ruusunen

Authors
  1. M. Vidgren
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  2. J. K. Virtanen
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  3. T. Tolmunen
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  4. T. Nurmi
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  5. T.-P. Tuomainen
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  6. S. Voutilainen
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  7. Anu Ruusunen
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Correspondence to Anu Ruusunen.

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Vidgren, M., Virtanen, J.K., Tolmunen, T. et al. Serum Concentrations of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Depression in a General Middle-Aged to Elderly Population in Finland. J Nutr Health Aging 22, 159–164 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-017-0948-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-017-0948-6

Key words

  • Vitamin D
  • 25-hydroxyvitamin D
  • depression
  • depressive symptoms