Vitamin D Levels in Female Depressive Psychotic Patients

Abstract
Background: Vitamin D is a neurosteroid hormone of a central role in CNS development and function and its insuffi-ciency is associated with cognitive impairments. Major De-pression Disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder that is affected by diet and nutritional factors. Aim of Study: The present study was carried out to assess the levels of vitamin D in depressive psychotic female patients and to compare its levels with the control group. Subjects and Methods: Eighty female subjects participated in this study, 40 inpatients in Abou Al-Azayem Psychiatric Hospital, Cairo, Egypt, suffering from major depressive disorder, and 40 healthy control volunteers. Vitamin D con-centration, Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), urea, creatinine and fasting glucose were evaluated in serum. Results: The results showed that vitamin D levels were significantly lower in the depressive psychotic group compared to the control group. Meanwhile, there were significant increases in urea concentrations in the depressive group compared to the control one. The two groups (depressive psychotic and control) on the other hand, showed insignificant changes in TSH, AST, ALT, creatinine and fasting glucose levels. Conclusion: Depressive psychotic patients suffered from vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency therefore, vitamin D supplementation maybe effective in the treatment of depression and lowering the depressive symptoms.