Large Study Links Depression and Low Levels of Vitamin D

This is why Afghan women suffered from depression at epidemic rates under the Taliban. Not only because of the horrific conditions they lived under, but they were never allowed out into the sunlight! No Vitamin D, ever, for 5 years. I hope there's a special hell for the Taliban.

My sister, who suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder every winter, started taking Vitamin D in 2010 and no longer has bouts of depression this time of the year. THEY may not recommend it, but I do to everyone I know.

To understand depression, you have to have depression because nobody understands me or others with it.

I use to suffer from extreme depression every winter(I live in upstate NY).A few years ago I began taking 2000 I.U. vitamin D3 a day and have not had one episode of depression since.One little pill erased a liftime of dread.I share this in the hopes it will help others to rid themselves of this monster.

If someone is deficient than levels should be raised, regardless if it will help with depression or not. But, I bet it will.

As a northerner, I used to get S.A.D every fall and winter (despite a healthy diet coupled with plenty of exercise, which usually helps) with a return to normalcy in the spring. During a routine blood lab, it was discovered that my vitamin D levels were a whopping 7. SEVEN! Checked again in the summer, they were above 40. I have taken a Vit D supplement every fall and winter for the past several years, levels now test great and I no longer get the "winter blues". Most of the time depression is not something someone can just will themselves out of. And from experience, I would say that Vit D may play a role in some cases, particularly for us that are sun deprived for much of the year.

Decades ago, the Swedes found that people who lived above the Arctic Circle were exhibiting very profound personality changes that were especially pronounced during the winter months(very short daylight hours.) They found that exposure to sun lamps for controlled lengths of time reversed the symptoms. Nice to see we have finally caught up with the Swedes.

People have been brainwashed into avoiding the sun, thinking they're preventing skin cancer. They're not preventing skin cancer, they're preventing vitamin D synthesis. Some sunlight is necessary for health and hormone production.

Could it be that low levels of vitamin D are the cause of SADD (seasonal affective depressive disorder), where some people get depressed in the winter? It makes sense since vitamin D is generally from the action of sun on your skin and there's way less skin exposed to sun, (and sunshine for that matter), in the winter.

When I got my physical last year, I wanted to get my vitamin D level checked, because it has been low in the past. The lab told me that my insurance dropped their coverage for that test, and it would cost me $80 out of pocket to get it done. I guess I take a guess at how much of a supplement to take and hope I don't overshoot it. So much for preventative medicine.

Easiest way to get Vit D is to be outside in the Sun once in awhile.....Maybe this is why Vampires are so moody and depressing.

Being Depressed might cause a vitamin D deficiency due to when you are depressed you do not want to frolic in the sun with puppies.

Thank you for taking the time to explain that correlation does not equal causation.

The most current data shows that depression is caused by immune reactions in the gastrointestinal tract. High levels of antibody production lower vitamin D levels, so this is a predictable effect.

The medical mafia never recommends vitamins or any other natural cure, because it interferes with their big fat earnings. They're afraid people will be healthy by taking over the counter supplements. It's always a joke that they say they stop short or recommending any type of nutrient.

reading the comments section of articles causes depression...

its called vitamin D for a reason - Depression

A true believer in Vitamin D. Was first given it for osteoarthritis, I felt better, then was told my level was high enough and taken off the supplement. Then in about a month more severe pain, then given another script- felt better-level up, taken off- felt bad. Yoyo Please doc just leave me on it. Nightshift worker

This is cool, if it's true, but I feel that someone should have noticed this correlation decades ago. Of course, depression, like most major medical conditions, probably has an enormous number of triggers and causes related to it.

I agree. I was diagnosed with PPD after the birth of my daughter. Two years later I was diagnosed with severely low levels of D and since then have had no symptoms of depression or anxiety disorder. Some people are more sensitive than others no doubt, but not to discount the relation or possible relations between the two...

this cannot have been a secret or as new as they make it seem, because my doc put me on vitamin D a year or more ago, for my depression. and I think it helps. It also ties in to the late winter fight with depression I seem to get into every year.