Assignment 1: Environmental Effects on Mental Health Worksheet

After an overnight fast, 2 milliliters of peripheral venous blood were drawn from each subject in the morning. Electrochemiluminescence techniques were used to measure the serum concentrations of 25 (OH) D. Depression was evaluated using the modified Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).

They collected blood samples from each participant to text vitamin D3 levels and used a questionnaire to measure depression symptoms.

The identification of vitamin D binding proteins (DBPs) and vitamin D receptors (VDRs) in the central nervous system (CNS), especially in areas related to mood regulation, has sparked curiosity in a possible association between vitamin D deficiency and depression.

This was done because vitamin C receptors are found in the brain regions that control mood therefore researchers wanted to see if vitamin D deficiency would be linked to depression.

Vitamin D deficiency was found in 67.2% of the depressed group but only in 32.8% of the non-depressed group (P < 0.001). In contrast, a far greater percentage (73.5%) of the non‑depressed group than the depressed group (26.5%) had adequate levels of Vitamin D.

The results showed that people with depression were much more likely to have low vitamin D levels compared to people without depression. People who were not depressed had the right amount of vitamin D in their system.

Our findings on the association between depression and vitamin D levels in Kerala, India, suggest that addressing vitamin D insufficiency with supplements or increasing sun exposure may affect mental health outcomes. There remained a strong association between vitamin D levels and depression even after controlling for age, gender, marital status, level of education, and occupation.

The results show that improving vitamin D levels, through supplements or sunlight, could help reduce depression. And improve mental health. The results also show that there is a strong corelation between depression and amounts of vitamin D.

The future research should use long-term and follow-up studies to see if having proper levels of vitamin D can actually prevent or reduce depression over time.

The most challenging part for me was understanding the statistics they used, especially how they compared different factors like age and gender. I would like help understanding how those numbers show the strength of the results.