Abstract
Objective
To examine the prospective relationship between vitamin D status and incident depression
in a large cohort of nondepressed community-dwelling older people.
Design
Longitudinal study examining the relationship between vitamin D levels at baseline
(wave 1) and incident depression at 2 and 4 years (waves 2 and 3), embedded within
the Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging. Participants with depression at wave 1 were
excluded. Logistic regression models reporting odds ratios were used to analyze the
longitudinal association of vitamin D categories with incident depression. Analysis
was weighted for attrition.
Setting and Participants
Almost 4000 community-dwelling people aged ≥50 years.
Measures
A score ≥9 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-8 at wave 2 or
3 was indicative of incident depression. Vitamin D analysis was performed using liquid
chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency
were defined as <30, 30–50, and >50 nmol/L, respectively.
Results
The incident depression group (400/3965) had a higher likelihood of baseline vitamin
D deficiency (proportional estimation 19.4) [95% confidence interval (CI) 15.1–24.7]
vs [12.4 (95% CI 11.1–14.0); Z = 3.93; P < .001]. Logistic regression models demonstrated that participants with vitamin D
deficiency had a significantly higher likelihood of incident depression (odds ratio
1.75, 95% CI 1.24–2.46; t = 3.21; P = .001). This finding remained robust after controlling for relevant covariates including
physical activity, chronic disease burden, cardiovascular disease and antidepressant
use.
Conclusions/Implications
This study demonstrates that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a significant
increase in the likelihood of developing depression in later life. These findings
are important, given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among older people,
the fact that supplementation has a low risk of toxicity or side effects, as well
as the significant adverse effect depression can have on functional status and longevity
in later life.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 20, 2018
Footnotes
Financial support was provided by Irish Government, the Atlantic Philanthropies and Irish Life plc. These funders had no involvement in the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, writing of the paper or submission for publication. Any views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Children or of the Minister for Health.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
