Vitamin D, testosterone and depression in middle-aged and elderly men: a systematic review.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to investigate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency (potentially mitigated by sunlight exposure), depression, and testosterone levels in middle-aged and elderly men.
Results Summary
The study found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with depression in older men and that vitamin D may play a protective role in depression through its effect on testosterone. Sunlight exposure or vitamin D supplementation was recommended as a low-risk intervention.
Population
Middle-aged and elderly men
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vitamin D deficiency | increase | depression | older men | - | is associated with the incidence of | #1 |
vitamin D | increase | testosterone | - | - | positive association between | #2 |
testosterone | increase | mood | - | - | can involve in | #3 |
vitamin D | decrease | depression | - | - | may also play a protective role in | #4 |
vitamin D supplement or exposure to the sunlight | decrease | depression | middle-aged and elderly men | - | to prevent | #5 |
Depression is one of the common psychiatric disorders during elderly. This systematic review aims to present the relationship between vitamin D deficiency, depression and testosterone serum concentration in the middle-aged and elderly men. We performed a comprehensive search in the Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science, Cochrane, Science Direct, and Scopus databases to collect any relevant published studies. The data of the articles that had been investigated the relationship between depression and 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25[OH]D) serum concentration (nine studies), or testosterone and 25[OH]D (six studies), as the primary outcomes, were included in our review. The results of the cohort and cross-sectional studies have shown that vitamin-D deficiency is associated with the incidence of depression in older men. In addition, documents have reported the positive association between vitamin D and testosterone, and previous studies have shown that testosterone can involve in the mood. We have proposed scientific mechanisms that have shown vitamin D may also play a protective role in depression through its effect on the testosterone. Therefore, it is a low risk and safe recommendation for the middle-aged and elderly men to use the vitamin D supplement or exposure to the sunlight to prevent depression.