This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Low vitamin D increased risk for schizophrenia diagnosis
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Recent study results showed that average vitamin D blood serum levels were lower in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia than in control individuals.
Researchers from the Food Security Research Center at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran report that analysis revealed a strong association between vitamin D deficiency and schizophrenia; further randomized clinical trials could confirm this association.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) classifies schizophrenia as a mental disorder that can manifest in hallucinations, confusion, irrational beliefs and jumbled speech. It is a costly condition to treat and could pose a great burden to public health care, Ghazaleh Valipour, MSc, and colleagues wrote in the study, recently published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
“There is a growing trend in the nutrition science field to consider vitamin D and its relationship to conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and depression,” Ahmad Esmaillzadeh, PhD, said in a press release. “Our findings support the theory that vitamin D may have a significant impact on psychiatric health.”
Ahmad Esmaillzadeh
In the study, data were extracted from 19 studies as a part of a systematic review completed in three meta-analyses. One meta-analysis included data on mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. Another meta-analysis compared prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in those with schizophrenia, and a final meta-analysis calculated ORs for schizophrenia among individuals with vitamin D deficiency. The 19 studies in the systematic review contained data on 2,804 adults, aged 18-65 years.
Statistical analysis revealed that among the 1,575 individuals included in the mean serum 25-(OH)D calculation, mean 25-(OH)D was 5.91 ng/mL lower in patients with schizophrenia (95% CI, –10.68 to –1.14); individuals with schizophrenia measured as high as 19.35 ng/mL 25-(OH)D and as low as 0.13 ng/mL 25-(OH)D.
Most of the studies included in the analysis reported lower 25-(OH)D among patients with schizophrenia, although some failed to demonstrate a significant difference among control individuals vs. those with schizophrenia. Researchers wrote that the type of biomarker used to identify 25-(OH)D levels could explain the variation; some studies used 25-hydroxyvitamin D (D2 and D3) while others used 25-hydroxyvitamin D (D3).
Overall occurrence of vitamin D deficiency in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia was 65.3% (95% CI, 46.4-84.2).
The study results also showed that adults with vitamin D deficiency were 2.16 times (95% CI, 1.32-3.56) more likely to have a schizophrenia diagnosis than counterparts with healthy levels of 25-(OH)D. In this final measure, the studies were consistent regardless of which vitamin D biomarker was analyzed.
“More research is needed to determine how the growing problem of vitamin D deficiency may be affecting our overall health,” Esmaillzadeh said in the press release.
For more information:
Esmaillzadeh can be reached at the Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, PO Box 81745-151, Iran; email: esmaillzadeh@nutr.mui.ac.ir.
Disclosure: The researchers reported no relevant financial disclosures. This study was supported in part by the Research Council of the Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts