Low levels of vitamin D in elderly people may lead to depression and other psychiatric problems, Dutch researchers said.

    "Underlying causes of vitamin D deficiency such as less sun exposure as a result of decreased outdoor activity, different housing or clothing habits and decreased vitamin intake may be secondary to depression, but depression may also be the consequence of poor vitamin D levels," the study, released Monday, said.

    Researchers from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, studied some 1,282 senior citizens aged between 65 and 95, and found 26 had major depression, while 169 suffered from minor depression.

    Vitamin D levels were 14 percent lower in those elderly suffering from some kind of depression, according to the study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

    It found that poor vitamin D status also led to an increase in levels of a hormone secreted by the parathyroid. Overactive parathyroid glands are frequently associated with depression.

    The findings could be important in treating depression as both low blood vitamin D levels and high parathyroid hormone levels can be corrected by dietary and calcium supplements or increased exposure to sunlight.

    "Moreover, the clinical relevance of the present study is underscored by our finding that 38.8 percent of men and 56.9 percent of women in our community-based cohort had an insufficient vitamin D status," the study added. 

    荷蘭研究人員日前稱，老年人體內的維生素D水平低可能會導致抑郁癥及其它精神問題。

    本周一公布的一項研究稱，“戶外活動減少、不同的居住條件或穿衣習慣引起曬太陽時間減少，以及維生素攝入量減少，這些都是體內缺乏維生素D的潛在原因，它們或許不是導致抑郁癥的直接原因，但是抑郁癥可能是體內維生素D水平低造成的。”

    阿姆斯特丹自由大學的研究人員對約1282名年齡在65歲到95歲間的老年人進行了研究，結果發現其中有26人患有重度抑郁，169人患有輕度抑郁。

    該研究指出，患有不同程度抑郁癥的老年人體內的維生素D含量要低14%。該研究在《普通精神醫學檔案》上發表。

    研究發現，人體內的維生素D含量低還會導致甲狀旁腺分泌的激素增多。而甲狀旁腺過度活躍常與抑郁癥有關。

    這些研究結果對于治療抑郁癥很重要，因為血液中維生素D含量低以及甲狀旁腺激素水平過高都可通過飲食、補鈣或多曬太陽來改善。

    研究人員稱：“此外我們的研究發現，在以社區為單位的研究小組中，有38.8%的男性和56.9%的女性缺乏維生素D。這一發現增強了該研究的臨床實用性。

    Vocabulary:  

    secrete:分泌