Role of Vitamin D supplementation in patients with depressive disorders and hypovitaminosis D: A longitudinal study

Background and Aim: Available literature is inconsistent for the role of Vitamin D supplementation in depression. With scarcity of Indian data, we aimed to study Vitamin D deficiency in patients with depression, its association with time to remission and role of Vitamin D supplementation. Methods: A total of 158 outpatients with depressive disorders were consecutively assessed for Vitamin D deficiency, severity of depression, physical activity, and nutritional habits and followed-up for 1 year. Eighty-seven patients completed follow-up for 1 year (55% retention). Results: Mean serum Vitamin D level was 11.9 ng/ml and the majority of patients (85%) had Vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL). Significant predictors of hypovitaminosis D were being female, unemployed or homemaker, from nuclear family and with a smaller height. Vitamin D deficient patients took significantly longer time in remission than nondeficient patients (2.86 months vs. 1.35 months, P= 0.006). Patients with Vitamin D deficiency received Vitamin D supplementation and subsequently their time to remission was comparable to nondeficient group. Conclusions: The majority of patients had Vitamin D deficiency, took a longer time to remission and reported improvement with Vitamin D supplementation. It signifies the importance of treating hypovitaminosis D for effective management of depression, to avoid delay in response, and incomplete remission