SynthesisThe journal of nutrition, health & aging2013
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and the risk of depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Vitamin D and Multiple Health Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Observational Studies, Randomized Controlled Trials, and Mendelian Randomization Studies.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Pooled 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
- An integrated meta-analysis of peripheral blood metabolites and biological functions in major depressive disorder.Molecular psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- The Influence of Vitamin D Intake and Status on Mental Health in Children: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Role of Vitamin D in Preventing and Treating Selected Extraskeletal Diseases-An Umbrella Review.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Vitamin D as a Biomarker of Ill Health among the Over-50s: A Systematic Review of Cohort Studies.Nutrients · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Non-skeletal health effects of vitamin D supplementation: A systematic review on findings from meta-analyses summarizing trial data.PloS one · 2017Pooled it
- Prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy in athletes: a systematic-review and meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2015Pooled it
- Vitamin D supplementation improves anxiety but not depression symptoms in patients with vitamin D deficiency.Brain and behavior · 2020Trial
- Vitamin D and probiotic co-supplementation affects mental health, hormonal, inflammatory and oxidative stress parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.Journal of ovarian research · 2019Trial
- Vitamin D Supplementation and Cognition in People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Control Trial.Journal of diabetes research · 2019Trial
- Efficacy and safety outcomes in vitamin D supplement users in the fingolimod phase 3 trials.Journal of neurology · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- 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
- Vitamin D as a Regulator of the Biological Clock-Implications for Circadian-Metabolic Dysregulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Association between vitamin D deficiency and the 8-year risk of incident depression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a cohort study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial on the contributions of vitamin D in the control of cardiovascular risk factors, depressive symptoms and suicide risk.American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice · 2025Article
- Sexual Functioning and Depressive Symptoms in Levothyroxine-Treated Women with Postpartum Thyroiditis and Different Vitamin D Status.Nutrients · 2025Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveNo quantitative systematic review or meta-analysis of population-based epidemiological studies has been conducted to assess the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and the risk of depression. This study aimed to summarize the current evidence from cross-sectional and prospective cohort studies that have evaluated the association between 25(OH)D levels and the risk of depression.
methodsRelevant studies were identified by systematically searching the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases through April 2012. Cross-sectional and cohort studies that reported adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association of interest were included. The reported risk estimates for 25(OH)D categories were recalculated, employing a comprehensive trend estimation from summarized dose-response data. A pooled OR was calculated separately for cross-sectional and cohort studies using random-effects models.
resultsIn the meta-analysis, 25(OH)D levels were significantly inversely associated with depression in 5 of 11 case-control studies and 2 of 5 cohort studies. The pooled estimate of the adjusted OR of depression in 11 cross-sectional studies (n = 43,137) was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.94-0.99, I2 = 63%) for a 10 ng/ml increase in 25(OH)D levels. The 5 included cohort studies comprised 12,648 participants, primarily elderly individuals, whose serum 25(OH)D levels were measured, and 2,663 experienced depression events during follow-up. The pooled adjusted OR of depression was 0.92 (95% CI = 0.87-0.98, I2 = 50%) for a 10 ng/ml increase in 25(OH)D levels.
conclusionsOur results indicate an inverse association between serum 25(OH)D levels and the risk of depression. Further studies are warranted to establish whether this association is causal.
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Registered trials
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.