Effects of vitamin D supplementation on depression and some selected pro-inflammatory biomarkers: a double-blind randomized clinical trial
What this study found
Vitamin D3 supplementation improved depressive symptoms and raised circulating 25(OH)D, but it did not meaningfully change the selected inflammatory biomarkers. In the intervention arm, 25(OH)D increased by 40.83 ± 28.57 nmol/L versus 5.14 ± 23.44 nmol/L in control (P < 0.001), and BDI-II scores decreased by 11.75 ± 6.40 versus 3.61 ± 10.40 in control (P = 0.003). IL-1β, IL-6, and hs-CRP showed no significant within- or between-group differences. Final iPTH did not differ significantly between groups, although the control group showed a within-group increase of 5.10 ± 6.002 pg/mL (P < 0.001).
- Study & population
- Double-blind randomized clinical trial conducted in adults with mild to moderate depression recruited from outpatient clinics of Baharloo Hospital in Tehran, Iran.
- Intervention
- Oral vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) was given at 50,000 IU every 2 weeks for 8 weeks.
- Key limitation
- The active intervention arm was small, and the treatment period was short at 8 weeks.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Background Both augmented inflammatory reaction and low vitamin D status are associated with depression but the magnitude of their relationships is unclear. This study was, therefore, conducted to evaluate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on serum 25(OH)D concentration, depression severity and some pro-inflammatory biomarkers in patients with mild to moderate depression. Methods An 8-week double-blind randomized clinical trial (RCT) was performed on 56 (18–60 yrs) patients with mild to moderate depression, randomly assigned to intervention (50,000 IU cholecalciferol 2wks −1 ) and control (placebo) groups. Serum 25(OH)D, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), interlukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and depression severity (Beck Depression Inventory-II) (BDI-II)) were initially and finally assessed. Results At the end point, statistically significant changes were observed only in intervention group as compared with controls including increased 25(OH)D concentration (+ 40.83 ± 28.57 vs. + 5.14 ± 23.44 nmol L −1 , P < 0.001) and decreased depression severity (-11.75 ± 6.40 vs. -3.61 ± 10.40, P = 0.003). No significant within- or between group differences were observed in serum IL-1β, IL-6 and hs-CRP concentrations. Conclusion Increased circulating 25(OH)D concentrations following 8-week vitamin D supplementation (50,000 IU 2wks −1 ) resulted in a significant decrease in BDI-II scores in patients with mild to moderate depression. However, this effect was independent of the serum concentrations of the studied inflammatory biomarkers. Trial registration The clinical trial registration code was obtained from the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (date of registration: 17/09/2018, registration number: IRCT20170926036425N1) and ClinicalTrials.gov (date of registration: 04/12/2018, registration number: NCT03766074)