The Mediation Role of Sleep Disturbances Between Vitamin D and Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study

Overview

Journal Brain Sci

Publisher MDPI

Date 2023 Nov 25

PMID 38002462

Authors

Lihua Yao

Mianmian Chen

Nan Zhang

Simeng Ma

Xinhui Xie

Shuxian Xu

Zhaowen Nie

Wei Wang

Enqi Zhou

Shunsheng Xu

Shenhong Weng

Hexiang Chen

Dan Xiang

Zhongchun Liu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Depression and sleep disturbances are highly prevalent health problems that have been suggested to be associated with vitamin D deficiency. This study investigated whether sleep disturbances affect the association between vitamin D and depressive symptoms. A total of 425 patients with depression were included in this study. Spearman correlation coefficients were chosen to assess the relation between vitamin D concentrations and depressive symptomatology (according to the PHQ-9 and HAMD-17 scores). The GLM Mediation Model in the Medmod module for data analysis in Jamovi 2.2.5 was used to analyze the mediation models for sleep disturbances. Vitamin D concentrations were significantly correlated with PHQ-9 and HAMD-17 scale scores. In addition, item 3 was suggested to have a mediating effect between vitamin D and depressive symptoms in the mediating model of PHQ-9, and item 4 was suggested to have a mediating effect between vitamin D and depressive symptoms in the mediating model of HAMD-17. Sleep disturbances (especially difficulty falling asleep) are mediators between vitamin D and depressive symptoms, suggesting that increasing vitamin D levels at the right time to regulate sleep disturbances may improve depression symptoms, yet further research is necessary.

Citing Articles

Vitamin D: Evidence-Based Health Benefits and Recommendations for Population Guidelines.

Grant W, Wimalawansa S, Pludowski P, Cheng R Nutrients. 2025; 17(2).

PMID: 39861407 PMC: 11767646. DOI: 10.3390/nu17020277.

References

Malhi G, Mann J . Depression. Lancet. 2018; 392(10161):2299-2312. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31948-2. View

Eyles D, Smith S, Kinobe R, Hewison M, McGrath J . Distribution of the vitamin D receptor and 1 alpha-hydroxylase in human brain. J Chem Neuroanat. 2004; 29(1):21-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2004.08.006. View

Wirz-Justice A, Skene D, Munch M . The relevance of daylight for humans. Biochem Pharmacol. 2020; 191:114304. DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114304. View

Zhu C, Zhang Y, Wang T, Lin Y, Yu J, Xia Q . Vitamin D supplementation improves anxiety but not depression symptoms in patients with vitamin D deficiency. Brain Behav. 2020; 10(11):e01760. PMC: 7667301. DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1760. View

Okun M, Mancuso R, Hobel C, Dunkel Schetter C, Coussons-Read M . Poor sleep quality increases symptoms of depression and anxiety in postpartum women. J Behav Med. 2018; 41(5):703-710. PMC: 6192841. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-018-9950-7. View

Archontogeorgis K, Nena E, Papanas N, Steiropoulos P . The role of vitamin D in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. Breathe (Sheff). 2018; 14(3):206-215. PMC: 6118887. DOI: 10.1183/20734735.000618. View

Lucock M, Jones P, Martin C, Beckett E, Yates Z, Furst J . Vitamin D: Beyond Metabolism. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2015; 20(4):310-22. DOI: 10.1177/2156587215580491. View

Vranic L, Mikolasevic I, Milic S . Vitamin D Deficiency: Consequence or Cause of Obesity?. Medicina (Kaunas). 2019; 55(9). PMC: 6780345. DOI: 10.3390/medicina55090541. View

Okereke O, Reynolds 3rd C, Mischoulon D, Chang G, Vyas C, Cook N . Effect of Long-term Vitamin D3 Supplementation vs Placebo on Risk of Depression or Clinically Relevant Depressive Symptoms and on Change in Mood Scores: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2020; 324(5):471-480. PMC: 7403921. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.10224. View

10.

Lu Y, Li J, Liu Y . Depression as a mediator of quality of life in patients with neuropathic pain: A cross-sectional study. J Adv Nurs. 2019; 75(11):2719-2726. DOI: 10.1111/jan.14111. View

11.

Mergl R, Dogan-Sander E, Willenberg A, Wirkner K, Kratzsch J, Riedel-Heller S . The effect of depressive symptomatology on the association of vitamin D and sleep. BMC Psychiatry. 2021; 21(1):178. PMC: 8025511. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03176-4. View

12.

Murphy P, Wagner C . Vitamin D and mood disorders among women: an integrative review. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2008; 53(5):440-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmwh.2008.04.014. View

13.

Al-Wardat M, Alwardat N, De Santis G, Zomparelli S, Gualtieri P, Bigioni G . The association between serum vitamin D and mood disorders in a cohort of lipedema patients. Horm Mol Biol Clin Investig. 2021; 42(4):351-355. DOI: 10.1515/hmbci-2021-0027. View

14.

Pandarakalam J . Challenges of Treatment-resistant Depression. Psychiatr Danub. 2018; 30(3):273-284. DOI: 10.24869/psyd.2018.273. View

15.

Menon V, Kar S, Suthar N, Nebhinani N . Vitamin D and Depression: A Critical Appraisal of the Evidence and Future Directions. Indian J Psychol Med. 2020; 42(1):11-21. PMC: 6970300. DOI: 10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_160_19. View

16.

Torki M, Gholamrezaei A, Mirbagher L, Danesh M, Kheiri S, Emami M . Vitamin D Deficiency Associated with Disease Activity in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Dig Dis Sci. 2015; 60(10):3085-91. DOI: 10.1007/s10620-015-3727-4. View

17.

Le J, Yuan T, Zhang Y, Wang S, Li Y . New LC-MS/MS method with single-step pretreatment analyzes fat-soluble vitamins in plasma and amniotic fluid. J Lipid Res. 2018; 59(9):1783-1790. PMC: 6121937. DOI: 10.1194/jlr.D087569. View

18.

Eyles D, Burne T, McGrath J . Vitamin D, effects on brain development, adult brain function and the links between low levels of vitamin D and neuropsychiatric disease. Front Neuroendocrinol. 2012; 34(1):47-64. DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2012.07.001. View

19.

Patel P, Pontrello C, Burke S . Robust and tissue-specific expression of TPH2 versus TPH1 in rat raphe and pineal gland. Biol Psychiatry. 2004; 55(4):428-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2003.09.002. View

20.

Bicikova M, Duskova M, Vitku J, Kalvachova B, ripova D, Mohr P . Vitamin D in anxiety and affective disorders. Physiol Res. 2015; 64(Suppl 2):S101-3. DOI: 10.33549/physiolres.933082. View