Depression

Depression Overview

See also in Vitamin D Life

• Suicide associated with low vitamin D - many studies
• Battling the winter blues with vitamin D (4000 IU) Dec 2015
• Seasonal Affective Disorder treatments include vitamin D and bright light – review Dec 2015
• Bipolar category in Vitamin D Life has 16 items
• Anti-depression medication about as good as big increase in vitamin D – meta-analysis of flawless data April 2014

Analysis of 33 meta-analyses found Omega-3 to be the best way to improve mental health - 2018

The efficacy and safety of nutrient supplements in the treatment of mental disorders: a meta-review of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials
FREE PDF    Described at GrassrootsHealth
Vitamin D Life Mental disorders fought by Omega-3 etc. - meta-meta-analysis Oct 2019

15+ Anxiety studies in Vitamin D Life

14+ Vitamin D Life pages with ANXIETY in title
This list is automatically updated

Screening proposed for Anxiety Disorders in all US Adults - June 2023

Screening for Anxiety Disorders in Adults - US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement
J. American Medical Association doi:10.1001/jama.2023.9301  Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

• For all adults aged 19 - 65
• Lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders in (US) adults was 26 % for men and 40 % for women (as of 2002)
• Anxiety and depressive disorders often overlap. One cohort study found that 67% of individuals with a depressive disorder also had a current anxiety disorder, and 75% had a lifetime comorbid anxiety disorder

Why not just improve health and reduce anxiety in everyone with vitamin D and/or Omega-3

Vitamin D reduces depression (4,000+ IU daily for 8+ weeks) - meta-analysis May 2020

The effect of vitamin D supplement on negative emotions: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Depression and Anxiety May 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23025
Ying-Chih Cheng, Yu-Chen Huang, Wei-Lieh Huang

The several meta-analyses of the effect of vitamin D on depression have produced inconsistent results and studies dealing with anxiety were not incorporated. There has been no comprehensive analysis of how results are affected by the nature of the sample or the dosage and duration of supplementation. The study is aimed to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation reduces negative emotions and to analyze the possible influence of sample and regimen.

Method
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing the effect of vitamin D and placebo on negative emotion. Databases were searched for relevant articles published before February 2019.

Results
The analysis covered 25 trials with a total of 7,534 participants and revealed an effect of vitamin D on negative emotion (Hedges' g = −0.4990, 95% CI [−0.8453, −0.1528], p = .0047, I2 = 97.7%). Subgroup analysis showed that vitamin D had an effect on patients with major depressive disorder and on subjects with serum 25(OH)D levels ≤50 nmol/L. The pooled data from trials of vitamin D supplementation lasting ≥8 weeks and dosage ≤4,000 IU/day indicated that vitamin D had an effect.

Conclusions
Our results support the hypothesis that vitamin D supplementation can reduce negative emotions. Patients with major depressive disorder and individuals with vitamin D deficiency are most likely to benefit from supplementation. But to interpret the results with high heterogeneity should still be cautious.
 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

Depression decreased by 300,000 IU injection of Vitamin D - RCT Oct 2020

Effect of adjunctive single dose parenteral Vitamin D supplementation in major depressive disorder with concurrent vitamin D deficiency: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial
J. of Psychiatric Research Vol 129, Oct 2020, Pages 250-256 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.07.037 PDF is behind a paywall
Favaz Vellekkatt a, Vikas Menon a, Medha Rajappa b, Jayaprakash Sahoo c

Adjunctive vitamin D replacement is a theoretically promising strategy to improve outcomes in major depression. Our objective was to assess the efficacy of a single parenteral dose of vitamin D supplementation at baseline as an adjunct to treatment as usual on change in depression symptom ratings (primary outcome), quality of life and clinical severity of illness (secondary outcomes) at the end of 12 weeks when compared to treatment as usual in patients with major depression and concurrent Vitamin D deficiency. Eligible participants were randomized to receive either treatment as usual (TAU; n = 23) or TAU plus single parenteral dose of 3,00,000 IU of vitamin D (n = 23) at baseline. Rater-blinded assessments of depression (primary outcome), quality of life (QoL) and clinical severity of illness were obtained at baseline, and end of follow-up (12 weeks). Intent-to-treat analyses were performed on the entire randomized sample. The intervention significantly improved depression symptom ratings, quality of life and clinical severity of illness at the end of the treatment phase. These findings indicate that a single parenteral dose (3,00,000 IU) of adjunctive vitamin D replacement at baseline is an effective and well tolerated intervention in major depressive disorder with concurrent Vitamin D deficiency. Additionally, it points to a possible role for vitamin D in the pathophysiology of depression and supports personalized approaches for treatment of major depressive disorder.

6X increase in Vitamin D and Depression studies in a decade

PubMed indicates that Depression & "Vitamin D" is becoming very popular:
146 studies in 2020

Depression Vitamin D trials are being cancelled - too many were taking Vitamin D

Vitamin D depression RCT canceled: too many were taking Vitamin D supplements, etc. Feb 2018

Depresssion drugs, including SSRI

Just How Far Will the FDA Go To Protect A Bad Drug? (SSRI Dec 2023)

Substack

• "While the FDA initially tried to stop Prozac, once Bush came to power (as his family was in bed with Prozac’s manufacturer), the FDA reversed course."
• "Since that time, the FDA has gone to extremely lengths to cover up the harms of antidepressants. Much of what the FDA did with the SSRIs was identical to what it’s done with the COVID vaccines and I believe learning what happened in the past is highly instructive for understanding what the FDA is doing now and how to stop it."
• "Note: Psychiatric medications are one of the most profitable drug franchises, making approximately 40 billion dollars a year"

• "This study found that SSRIs increased the rate of violent crimes committed by 43% in those between the ages of 15 and 24 receiving the drugs."
• "... a much larger survey of SSRI users found 39% had experienced suicidal ideation while on the drugs."

37% of Americans take drugs that list depression as a possible side effect - July 2023

Common medications raise depression risk, NEW study warns

• Depression With Drugs - Are Your Medications Making You Depressed? May 2023

A decade of use of antidepressive drugs doubles CVD - Oct 2022

Long-term antidepressant use tied to an increase in CVD, mortality risk MDEdge

• " 10-year data from the UK Biobank on over 220,000 adults "
• "The main culprits were mirtazapine, venlafaxine, duloxetine, and trazodone, although SSRIs were also tied to increased risk"

SSRIs cause long term sexual dysfunction (prescription warnings in Europe and Canada)

• Antidepressants (SSRI) can cause 'chemical castration' June 2023
  • "In a study from 2001 involving >1000 patients with no previous history of sexual problems, 59% reported sexual dysfunction after commencing an antidepressant. For the five most commonly used drugs, 46% experienced no orgasm or ejaculation."
  • No change by the FDA, but "In June 2019, the European Medicines Agency updated the ‘Special Warnings and Precautions’ section on the label of SSRIs to warn that sexual dysfunction can persist even after treatment stops."
  • Canada also changed
• POST-SSRI SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION website

Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction

• "Close to 100% of people who take antidepressants experience some form of sexual side effects."
• "Commonly used SSRIs include paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), and vortioxetine (Trintellix)."
• "The RxISK Prize of $100,000 USD is offered to anyone who can provide a cure for persistent sexual side effects after stopping antidepressants, finasteride, or isotretinoin."
  • Comment: perhaps should take Vitamin D instead of SSRI for depression
  • Cost to treat depression for 1 month: $600 for Prozac., $30 for generic Prozac $1 for Vitamin D

Why Are Antidepressants (SSRIs) so Harmful? - Nov 2023

Subtack Nov 26, 2023

• "Like many other stimulant drugs (e.g., cocaine) SSRIs are highly addictive. Because of this, patients will get severely ill when they attempt to stop them (withdrawals affect roughly half of SSRI users) and it is often extremely difficult to withdraw from them. In this article, I will cover the approaches I know for that since very few resources exist for people in that situation."
• "For example, in a survey of 1,829 patients on antidepressants in New Zealand,
  • 62% reported sexual difficulties,
  • 60% felt emotionally numb,
  • 52% felt not like themselves,
  • 39% cared less about others,
  • 47% had experienced agitation and
  • 39% had experienced suicidal ideation."
• "•An international survey of 3,516 people from 14 patient advocacy groups found that 44% had permanently stopped taking a psychiatric drug due to its side effects."

Antidepressant drugs often not effective and hard to stop using - Oct 2022

How to make better use of antidepressants - The Economist

• Antidepressant "drugs had a substantial effect on depression beyond that of a placebo for only 15% of patients."
• "A study published in 2010, which examined research on two common ssris, estimated that for people with less severe depression the odds of improving by taking the drugs were just 6% higher than they were for taking a placebo. "
• "A review of the research published on that topic, carried out in 2019, found that between 27% and 86% of people attempting to come off antidepressants experienced withdrawal symptoms, and that nearly half of them described those symptoms as severe."

 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

Depression and Vitamin D on the web

• Depression and Vitamin D: A Peculiar Relationship - April 2022 good overview PDF
• Efficacy of vitamin D in the treatment of depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis - 2021 PDF
• Molecular Basis Underlying the Therapeutic Potential of Vitamin D for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety - June 2022 PDF
  • Magnesium: The Safe First Line of Defense for Clinical Depression GreenMedInfo Oct 2019
• Why American Teens Are So Sad The Atlantic, April 2022 PDF
  • "The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental-health crisis. From 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent, according to a new CDC study."
  • Reasons given: 1) Social-media use, 2) Sociality is down, 3) The world is stressful—and there is more news about the world’s stressors,4. Modern parenting strategies,
• Vitamin D and depression: mechanisms, determination and application - 2019 10.6133/apjcn.201912_28(4).0003 FREE PDF
• Antidepressants More Effective Than Placebo at Treating Acute Depression in Adults Feb 2018 review of Lancet Study
  but Anti-depression medication about as good as big increase in vitamin D – meta-analysis of flawless data April 2014
• Vitamins for Depression Psych Central Sept 2019
  • Vitamin D, SAM-e, Omega-3, St. John’s Wort, Vitamin B, Kava Kava, Probiotic, Tumeric, etc
• F.D.A. Approves First Drug for Postpartum Depression New York Times March 2019
  • "The medication works quickly, within 48 hours. But it’s an expensive infusion and requires a stay in a medical center."
• 60 hours of infusion >$20,000 for just the drug. Was found to be only better than a placebo
• Veterans Agency to Offer New Depression Drug, Despite Cost and Safety Concerns NYT June 2019__
  • $5,000 for a full course of treatment. Spravato is a nasal-spray used twice a week for 4 weeks. Generic spay costs less than $100 for a full treatment
  • "F.D.A. approval requires that people taking Spravato be monitored in a doctor’s office for at least two hours, and their experience entered in a registry"

Depression on the web other than Vitamin D

• Rhodiola (Tibetan Ginseng) GreenMedInfo updated Oct 2019
  • As good as Zoloft with 1/2 the side affects. Many other health benefits as well
• Exericse treats Depression Aug 2019, Dr. Patrick - mentions too - such as Omega-3 and bright light Associated Video
• Groundbreaking Study Finds Turmeric Extract Superior to Prozac for Depression Green Med Info July 2013
  Note This activates the Vitamin D Receptor, which gets more Vitamin D to the cells
  6 week randomized controlled trial - virtually the same result
• Curcumin Has Antidepressive Effects in Thai Patients with Major Depression Jan 2018
  Note This activates the Vitamin D Receptor, which gets more Vitamin D to the cells
  Improved benefit of conventional depression drugs about 2X
  PDF is at SciHub http://sci-hub.tw/10.1007/s12640-017-9860-4
• Curcumin in depressive disorders: An overview of potential mechanisms, preclinical and clinical findings Aug 2016
  Note This activates the Vitamin D Receptor, which gets more Vitamin D to the cells
  Behind a paywall https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2016.05.026
• Use of Antidepressants Continue to Rise Mercola Sept 2017
  "According to the World Health Organization depression is now the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide,
  Globally, rates of depression increased by 18 % between 2005 and 2015"
  "11 % of Americans over the age of 12 are on antidepressant drugs. Among women in their 40 and 50s, 1 in 4 is on antidepressants"
  "Depression is also strongly linked to an increased risk for substance abuse, diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and suicide."
  "Placebo Effect Accounts for 82 Percent of Drug Response"
  Describes the benefits of Vitamin D / Sun exposure. Omega-3, B vitamins, St. John's Wort , etc.
• Why Resetting Your Inner Clock Can Improve Your Life Jan 2018 Self-Hacked
  Reduce depression by Bright Light Therapy etc to deal with Season Affective Disorder, Bipolar, Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, etc.
• CureZone about 20 people describing what cured them from being depressed Jan 2018
  Did not notice Vitamin D. Did notice Iodine
• Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit NYT April 2018
  Some 15.5 million Americans have been taking the medications for at least five years.
  The rate has almost doubled since 2010, and more than tripled since 2000.
  
• WARNING: Synthetic antidepressants raise the risk of premature death, study reveals July 2018
  "Out of 375,000 study participants on antidepressants, one-third died prematurely"
  The Mortality and Myocardial Effects of Antidepressants Are Moderated by Preexisting Cardiovascular Disease: A Meta-Analysis - Oct 2017, https://doi.org/10.1159/000477940
  "AD use increased the risks of mortality (HR = 1.33)"
• Maternal depression alters stress and immune biomarkers in mother and child Aug 2018
  Depressed mothers ==> stressed children, PDF is available free at Sci-Hub   10.1002/da.22818
  No mention that vitamin D, Mg, Omega-3 could reduce depression in mother and reduce stress/immune problem in child
• Antidepressants Cause Severe Withdrawal Symptoms like "Hallucination," "Mania," & "Anxiety," New Study Reveals GreenMed Info Oct 2018
  " More than half (56%) of people who attempt to come off antidepressants experience withdrawal effects. "
  "Nearly half (46%) of people experiencing withdrawal effects describe them as severe. "
  " It is not uncommon for the withdrawal effects to last for several weeks or months. "

Mercola and depression

• 27% of adults are depressed or anxious] Mercola 2022 PDF
• The Chemical Imbalance Myth and Antidepressant Harm Mercola Sept 2019
  • Peter C. Gøtzsche, a Danish physician-researcher, Gøtzsche helped found the Cochrane Collaboration in 1993
  • Wrote: "Deadly Medicines and Organized Crime: How Big Pharma Has Corrupted Healthcare - 2013
  • Wrote "Survival in an Overmedicated World: Look Up the Evidence Yourself" 2019
  • all of the 22 (depression) papers came to the conclusion that "the drugs were not beneficial in the long term."
• Mercola 2018 Intro to Depression, with links to details has some on Vitamin D
• Mercola June 2019
  "7% of the (US) adult population, experienced at least one major depressive episode in 2017."
  "...World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide, and increased 18% between 2005 and 2015"
  "...Among seniors over the age of 65, only 14.3% met the criteria (major depressive episode)
  "Studies comparing the drugs to placebo found 20 to 40 out of 100 found relief from placebo alone, while 40 to 60 out of 100 reported improvement on an antidepressant after six to eight weeks"

Vitamin D Life - 21 studies in both categories Depression and Pregnancy

This list is automatically updated

Vitamin D Life - 29 studies in both categories Depression and Omega-3

This list is automatically updated

260 items in Depression category

Items associated with Depression: Omega-3 29; Top news 22; Cognitive 21; Pregnancy 20; Intervention 17; Meta-analysis 15; Magnesium 14; Diabetes 10; Seniors 10; Stroke. 9; Intervention - non daily. 8; Youth 8; etc.