A study, appearing in the British Journal of Psychiatry (Epublished ahead of print, July 12, 2012) found that depression may be linked to low levels of vitamin D. The study looked at 230 depressed subjects with low vitamin D levels and compared them to 114 individuals with high vitamin D levels. They were evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory, Seasonal Pattern Assessment Scale and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Subjects with low vitamin D levels were more depressed than those with high vitamin D levels, according to these questionnaires. Giving patients with low vitamin D levels a high dose of vitamin D (40,000 IU of vitamin D3 per week for six months) did not improve symptoms. Exposure to natural sunlight helps to increase vitamin D levels–perhaps this would have helped the subjects.
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