The importance of Vitamin D in emotional health

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2020, depression affects more than 320 million people per year!

Produced by the human body in response to sun exposure, vitamin D is essential for brain activity. But the relationship between vitamin levels and symptoms of depression is still not a consensus.

Even the authors of the new study conducted by experts from Australia, the United States and Finland and published last year, point out the need to further study the doses needed for patients with depression:  

“Our results suggest that vitamin D supplementation has beneficial effects in both individuals diagnosed with depression and those with milder depressive symptoms. However, there is conflicting evidence that needs to be considered when interpreting the results”, says Finnish researcher Tuomas Mikola in the publication.

What were the study findings?

The study showed that vitamin D supplements were more effective in combating the symptoms of patients diagnosed with depression when administered for periods curtos, for up to 12 weeks, and with doses of 50 to 100 micrograms daily.

The conclusion goes in the opposite direction of other publications, such as a 2020 study carried out in the United States that concluded that vitamin D has no effect on depression in adults and the elderly. 

“From a psychiatric point of view, there is a clear tendency that it is necessary to treat vitamin D deficiencies. When we request a test and find hypovitaminosis, we treat it. Now, supplementation in patients with depression, but with normal levels of vitamin D in the blood, the study itself says is still something questionreliable”, explains psychiatrist Alfredo Maluf, coordinator of the Center for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychiatry at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein.

How does vitamin D work?

The main source of vitamin D is not in food, but in sun exposure: the diet guarantees around 10% of the necessary amount of vitamin D, while the sun is responsible for 90% of the absorption of the micronutrient. 

Produced in skin tissues after sun exposure, the vitamin has two different presentations at this stage: cholecalciferol and ergocalciferol. These substances are transported to the liver and, in this organ, they undergo modifications and form calcidiol, also known as the body's vitamin D store. Afterwards, calcidiol goes to the kidneys, in which it forms calcitriol, which is the active form of vitamin D in the human body. 

In Brazil, there is no consolidated data on how many people have insufficient levels of vitamin D in their blood, but a survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) published in 2011 indicates that the diet of the majority of the population does not include foods rich in the micronutrient, such as meat, fish, eggs and milk, in satisfactory quantities.

In mild cases, vitamin D deficiency does not usually cause symptoms and is identified through blood tests. But, In the long term, its main consequence is the loss of bone mass, which causes osteoporosis and, consequently, greater risk of fractures. In rare cases, it can also cause a reduction in the level of calcium in the blood, called hypocalcemia.

Already excess vitamin D in the body it causes hypercalcemia, which can lead to intoxication which, although rare, can be quite serious. Therefore, it is important to be careful when using supplements!

Poisoning by excess vitamin D It can also cause gastrointestinal symptoms, such as indigestion and heartburn, or affect the kidneys and progress to kidney failure, according to endocrinologists. This scenario, although rare, has become more common in recent years due to the popularization of vitamin supplements.

professional follow-up

Despite the ease of access to supplements, which are sold without a prescription in pharmacies and online, Doctors' recommendation is that capsules containing vitamin D should only be used under professional supervision, and for determined periods. 

“In general, there is no indication for continuous use: the supplement is only necessary until this deficiency is reversed. This is because vitamin D is synthesized mainly through sun exposure. So this is what will help maintain this nutrient at healthy levels after supplementation”, explains the endocrinologist at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Adriana Martins Fernandes. 

(Source: Einstein Agency)

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