ArticleMolecular psychiatry2014
The association between low vitamin D and depressive disorders.
Article in Molecular psychiatry, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 111 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
111 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 259 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adherence to the MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet and depression, stress, and anxiety: a systematic review.BMC nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Vitamin D and depression in adults: A systematic review.Biomolecules & biomedicine · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of vitamin D on the prognosis after spinal cord injury: A systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of vitamin D supplementation on the incidence and prognosis of depression: An updated meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Relationship between vitamin D deficiency and psychophysiological variables: a systematic review of the literature.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2021Pooled it
- Does Vitamin D3 Supplementation Improve Depression Scores among Rural Adolescents? A Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2024Trial
- Effects of Urban Forest Therapy Program on Depression Patients.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Vitamin D moderates the interaction between 5-HTTLPR and childhood abuse in depressive disorders.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Dose ranging effects of vitamin D3 on the geriatric depression score: A clinical trial.The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology · 2018Trial
- Effect of an vitamin D deficiency on depressive symptoms in child and adolescent psychiatric patients - a randomized controlled trial: study protocol.BMC psychiatry · 2018Trial
- Prevention of depression through nutritional strategies in high-risk persons: rationale and design of the MooDFOOD prevention trial.BMC psychiatry · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Vitamin D supplementation to prevent depression and poor physical function in older adults: Study protocol of the D-Vitaal study, a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.BMC geriatrics · 2015Trial
- Effect of monthly vitamin D3 supplementation in healthy adults on adverse effects of earthquakes: randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2014Trial
- Peripheral BDNF-TrkB Expression and Vitamin D Status in Depression, Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Biomarker Study.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- The Association Between Vitamin D Status and Depression Severity in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- A study of mental health status and its influencing factors in normal weight obesity population.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Adherence to a healthy Nordic diet is associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Plasma vitamin D binding protein as the potential predictor of depressive disorder risk in breast cancer patients.Scientific reports · 2025Article
51 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
It has been hypothesized that hypovitaminosis D is associated with depression but epidemiological evidence is limited. We investigated the association between depressive disorders and related clinical characteristics with blood concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in a large cohort. The sample consisted of participants (aged 18-65 years) from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) with a current (N=1102) or remitted (N=790) depressive disorder (major depressive disorder, dysthymia) defined according to DSM-IV criteria, and healthy controls (N=494). Serum levels of 25(OH)D measured and analyzed in multivariate analyses adjusting for sociodemographics, sunlight, urbanization, lifestyle and health. Of the sample, 33.6% had deficient or insufficient serum 25(OH)D (<50 nmol l(-1)). As compared with controls, lower 25(OH)D levels were found in participants with current depression (P=0.001, Cohen's d=0.21), particularly in those with the most severe symptoms (P=0.001, Cohen's d=0.44). In currently depressed persons, 25(OH)D was inversely associated with symptom severity (β=-0.19, s.e.=0.07, P=0.003) suggesting a dose-response gradient, and with risk (relative risk=0.90, 95% confidence interval=0.82-0.99, P=0.03) of having a depressive disorders at 2-year follow-up. This large cohort study indicates that low levels of 25(OH)D were associated to the presence and severity of depressive disorder suggesting that hypovitaminosis D may represent an underlying biological vulnerability for depression. Future studies should elucidate whether-the highly prevalent-hypovitaminosis D could be cost-effectively treated as part of preventive or treatment interventions for depression.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.