The effect of vitamin D on patients with depression symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: 1- to estimate the effect size of vitamin D on depression symptoms, 2- to analyze and discuss the effect size of different Vitamin D doses, time of intervention, and depression assessment instruments through subgroup analyses.

Method: This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) in search of eligible studies on multiple databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. The quality of included studies would be evaluated by the Jadad scale. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were based on PICOTS standards. Meta-analyses were performed using R Studio and presented in the forest plot.   

Results: Of the total 1274 records identified in multiple databases, ten RCTs were eligible for inclusion, with 60% of them having good quality. The result of our meta-analysis indicated that, compared to placebo, vitamin D supplementation demonstrated a better effect on reducing -0.78 depression points (Standardized Mean Differences (SMD) =−0.78, 95%CI= -1.26; -0.30). Moreover, vitamin D3 was found to relieve depression symptoms among individuals who were assessed by BDI scales (SMD=-1-15), took ≥3000 International Unit (IU) of Vitamin D3 per day (SMD=-1.02), and studied for 8 weeks (SMD=-0.88).

Conclusion: This study demonstrated the clinical implications of vitamin D supplementation by relieving symptoms of depression. Our findings might suggest the use of vitamin D supplements as an alternative to antidepressants or adding vitamin D to current treatment guidelines.

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