Hypovitaminosis and depression
Depression has been linked to vitamin B12 deficiency
Olga Ivanova, Naked Science
There are many causes of depression: from polluted air and genetic predisposition to psychological trauma in childhood. Nobody knows for sure about this. Depression should not be confused with the so-called major depressive disorder (BDR).
Unlike the first one, which is often understood as any bad mood or autumn melancholy, BDR is a real disease that does not imply treatment with the help of "willpower". As a rule, it needs medication therapy, because otherwise it tends to gradually worsen — at least in the middle and late stages of the disease.
BDR includes a number of symptoms — from psychological (bad mood, inability to experience vivid emotions, especially positive ones, insomnia or hypersomnia, indecision, forgetfulness, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, thoughts of suicide) to physiological (chronic fatigue, loss of energy, slowing down mental and physical activity, weight loss or weight gain).
Scientists from Trinity College in Dublin (Ireland) studied data from the longitudinal study of aging TILDA, which involved 3,849 people aged 50 years and older. The condition of the volunteers — both psychological and physical — was monitored for more than four years. People regularly donated blood to check the level of vitamins in plasma, and also underwent psychological tests to help identify symptoms of depressive disorder. The findings are presented in the British Journal of Nutrition (Laird et al., Low vitamin B12 but not folate is associated with incident depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: a 4 year longitudinal study).
It turned out that the risk of depression in elderly people with vitamin B12 deficiency is 51 percent higher than in those whose blood levels of this vitamin are normal. "Every year the number of elderly people with B12 deficiency is only growing, and after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, there are more and more people who suffer from loneliness and depression. Our study highlights the importance of increasing the intake of vitamin B12 products or supplements. This may help reduce the risk factors for depression among people over 50," said lead author Dr. Eamon Laird.
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