Serum vitamin d inversely correlates with depression scores in people with multiple sclerosis

Vitamin D (Vit.D) deficiency is a risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS) and correlates with its severity. Depression is also common in people with MS (PWMS). We aim to investigate Vit.D correlation with depression risk scores in PWMS.

A cross-sectional cohort of PWMS were studied. Clinical and demographic data were collected. The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) were used to evaluate the risk of depression. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) were used to evaluate the disability. Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured. Bivariate and partial correlations of Vit.D status and scores of depressive and disability scales were statistically analyzed. The IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, version 25.0, was used for data processing.

A total of 88 PWMS were enrolled. More than half of them had potential depression, and 68% had below-normal serum Vit.D levels (normal ≥ 30 ng/ml, insufficient = 21-29 ng/ml, and deficient ≤ 20 ng/ml). Serum Vit.D levels significantly correlated with scores of depression scales in both males and females, which was more robust in males. This association was maintained with a partial correlation analysis controlling for age, sex, body mass index, disease duration, type of MS, and EDDS HADS: r=-0.513, p<0.001; BDI-II: r=-0.401, p<0.001). Serum Vit.D had significant inverse correlations with EDSS score (r=-0.353, p = 0.001) and PDDS score (r=-0.341, p = 0.001), with more robust correlations in females compared to the whole group.

Vit.D levels correlate with depression risk scores in PWMS with differential sex effects.