30 June 2014
A new US study reports that low blood vitamin D levels may increase the chance of developing symptoms of anxiety and depression during early pregnancy.
The observational study measured the blood vitamin D concentrations of 498 women who had been pregnant for an average of 15.4 weeks and documented self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health disorders (1). The study results showed that about 12% of the participants had moderate anxiety and depression symptoms. The women with the lowest vitamin D levels reported more often about more severe symptoms of depression and anxiety compared to women in the group with the highest levels. Every 1 ng/ml decrease in vitamin D levels was related to an increase in severity. The results also showed that lower vitamin D levels were related to more severe depression symptoms among women who reported no physical activity. This relationship did not exist in women who did report physical activity. The symptoms of depression were independent of factors such as BMI, skin color, season, age or smoking.
The researchers called for future studies to look at the relationship between vitamin D and depressive symp- toms throughout the course of pregnancy and to further explore the role of physical activity in this relation- ship. Depression and anxiety are relatively common during pregnancy, with an estimated 15% to 30% pre- valence among women in the United States. Previous research has suggested that mood disorders during early pregnancy may increase the risk for smoking during pregnancy, complications such as preeclampsia during pregnancy, and poor mental health after birth (2). Vitamin D has been shown to play a role in certain mood disorders (3, 4).
5 September 2012
According to a new review, data from dietary intake surveys indicate that vitamin inadequacy is widespread among healthy, elderly people, even those in affluent Western countries.
17 February 2014
A new study from France reports that women severely deficient in vitamin D may be more likely to have diastolic orthostatic hypotension than women with higher levels.
1 May 2012
A new study from Finland reports that low concentrations of beta-carotene in the blood may increase the risk for mortality due to cardiovascular diseases among men nearly twofold.
