The Effect of Vitamin D3 on Depression in Iranian Women

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric illnesses that it associated with a variety of symptoms, high rates of relapse, and many physical and psychological disorders. Aim: To determine the effect of vitamin D3 supplements on depression in women referred to health centres in Qazvin, Iran. Materials and Methods: Overall, 374 patients were evaluated with Beck's depression test. A total of 65 patients were included in the study after they were diagnosed with moderate and severe depression. Individuals with moderate depression were divided into two groups: 1) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT); and 2) CBT plus vitamin D3 (50,000 units of eight tablets for eight weeks). Subjects with severe depression were divided into two groups: 1) drug therapy; and 2) drug therapy plus vitamin D3. Beck's test and vitamin D3 blood sample measurements were performed before and eight weeks after intervention. Independent sample t-test was used to compare the means of control and intervention groups. Results: Depression scores of patients in post-test stage were significantly lower than depression scores of patients in pre-test stage in all intervention methods (p<0.01). Mean depression score (11.4±2.5) of patients in post-test stage of intervention with CBT plus vitamin D3 was significantly lower than the depression score (14.7±2.7) of patients in post-test stage of intervention with CBT (p<0.05). The difference of mean depression scores in post-test stage of drug therapy (20.4±3.7) and drug therapy plus vitamin D3 (15.8±3.3) intervention methods was significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: The use of vitamin D3 supplements can be helpful in the treatment of depression in women.

Keywords

• counseling
• drug therapy
• improvement