Haven’t been in the sun too much this winter season and feeling depressed? Well, it may be due to the fact that low levels of vitamin D are now linked to depression. According to a recent article, low vitamin D levels are already linked to cardiovascular diseases and various neurological problems. However, a new study links the connection between low vitamin D levels and depression. At the UT Southwestern Medical Center, researchers examined 12,600 subjects from 2006 to 2012. Results showed that subjects with higher vitamin D levels, who had a previous history of depression, had a larger decreased risk of depression at the time. Participants with low levels of vitamin D were shown to have signs of depression. Although the study the relationship of vitamin D and depression, the study did not show if increasing vitamin D in your diet actually reduced those depressive-like symptoms. Also, scientists have not confirmed whether or not low vitamin D causes depression like symptoms or if depression is causing low vitamin D levels. One could say low vitamin D levels are linked to depression however, adding vitamin D to your diet would not necessarily cure depression-like symptoms.

Many concepts around the idea of vitamin D being linked to depression are still unknown, but I think it is still a very important topic to discuss and important further research the subject.  The psychiatrists the UT Southwestern Medical Center have reported that major depressive disorder affects one in ten adults in the United States. One-tenth of our adult population has depression. When you put it into perspective, that is one person in a room of ten people. If that is the case,  then for me this is a field where the link between vitamin D and depression needs to be further researched. For now, it won’t hurt some sunshine to get your daily dosage of vitamin D.