Association Between Low Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Depression in a Large Sample of Healthy Adults: The Cooper Center Longitudinal Study

Hoang, MinhTu T.; DeFina, Laura F.; Willis, Benjamin L.; Leonard, David S.; Weiner, Myron F.; Brown, E. Sherwood

doi:10.4065/mcp.2011.0208

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Volume 86, Issue 11 , Pages 1050-1055, November 2011

Association Between Low Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Depression in a Large Sample of Healthy Adults: The Cooper Center Longitudinal Study

MinhTu T. Hoang, BS
- Department of Psychiatry The university of Texas Southwestern Medical center, Dallas, TX
Laura F. DeFina, MD
- The university of Texas Southwestern Medical center, Dallas, and The cooper institute, Dallas, TX
Benjamin L. Willis, MD, MPH
- The university of Texas Southwestern Medical center, Dallas, and The cooper institute, Dallas, TX
David S. Leonard, PhD
- Division of Biostatistics, department of clinical Sciences, Dallas, TX
Myron F. Weiner, MD
- Department of Psychiatry The university of Texas Southwestern Medical center, Dallas, TX
E. Sherwood Brown, MD, PhD
- Department of Psychiatry The university of Texas Southwestern Medical center, Dallas, TX
- Dr Brown has research support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Stanley Medical Research institute, and AstraZeneca.
- Address correspondence to E. Sherwood Brown, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical center at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Mc 8849, Dallas, TX 75390-8849

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between serum vitamin D levels and depression in a large database of patients from the Cooper Clinic.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 12,594 participants seen at the Cooper Clinic from November 27, 2006, to October 4, 2010. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was analyzed, and depression was defined as a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) score of 10 or more. Those with and those without a history of depression represented 2 distinct populations with respect to CES-D scores; accordingly, they were analyzed separately.

RESULTS

In the total sample, higher vitamin D levels were associated with a significantly decreased risk [odds ratio, 0.92 (95% confidence interval, 0.87-0.97)] of current depression based on CES-D scores. The finding was stronger in those with a prior history of depression [odds ratio, 0.90 (95% confidence interval, 0.82-0.98)] and not significant in those without a history of depression [odds ratio, 0.95 (95% confidence interval, 0.89-1.02)].

CONCLUSION

We found that low vitamin D levels are associated with depressive symptoms, especially in persons with a history of depression. These findings suggest that primary care patients with a history of depression may be an important target for assessment of vitamin D levels.

BMI, body mass index , CCLS, Cooper Center Longitudinal Study , CES-D, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale , 25(OH)D, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D