Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Vitamin D deficiency linked to depression

Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Dec, 2014 10:39 AM
  • Vitamin D deficiency linked to depression
Vitamin D deficiency is not just harmful to physical health - it might also impact your mental health, says a new research.
 
The researchers found a link between seasonal depression (seasonal affective disorder or SAD) and a lack of sunlight.
 
"Rather than being one of many factors, vitamin D could have a regulative role in the development of SAD," said Alan Stewart of the University of Georgia' College of Education in the US.
 
The researchers conducted a review of more than 100 leading articles and found a relationship between vitamin D and seasonal depression.
 
"Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression related to changes in season," Stewart added.
 
Vitamin D is involved in the synthesis of serotonin and dopamine within the brain, both chemicals linked to depression, according to the researchers.
 
Vitamin D levels of more than 50 nanomoles per litre are recommended by the US Institute of Medicine.
 
"What we know now is that there are strong indications that maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D is also important for good mental health," said Michael Kimlin from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia.
 
"A few minutes of sunlight exposure each day should be enough for most people to maintain an adequate vitamin D status," he added.
 
The findings appeared in the journal Medical Hypotheses.

MORE Health ARTICLES

Nervous system plays bigger role in infections

Nervous system plays bigger role in infections
The nervous system may play a bigger role in infections and auto-immune diseases than previously known, says a study....

Nervous system plays bigger role in infections

Ebola test results now in 15 minutes!

Ebola test results now in 15 minutes!
The project, led by the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, uses a "mobile suitcase laboratory", BBC reported....

Ebola test results now in 15 minutes!

Not all mosquitoes can transmit malaria

Not all mosquitoes can transmit malaria
A genetic study has revealed that certain species of mosquitoes have evolved to better transmit malaria than even some of their close cousins....

Not all mosquitoes can transmit malaria

Mechanism linked to stroke damage identified

Mechanism linked to stroke damage identified
Researchers have discovered the mechanism linked to stroke damage and brain function, thus paving the way to develop a new drug target to block brain damage....

Mechanism linked to stroke damage identified

Ebola virus detected in semen three months after symptoms end

Ebola virus detected in semen three months after symptoms end
The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned Friday that the semen of men recovering from Ebola can contain the deadly virus up to three months after the symptoms disappear...

Ebola virus detected in semen three months after symptoms end

Gateway to human memory in brain identified

Gateway to human memory in brain identified
An international team has successfully determined with a level of precision never achieved before the location in the brain where memories are generated....

Gateway to human memory in brain identified