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Nutritional Epidemiology (Poster Session)

(P13-077-24) Association Between Vitamin D Intake and Depressive Symptoms in the Elderly

Sunday, June 30, 2024
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM CT
Location: Poster Board 465

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Ming-Chieh Li, PhD (he/him/his)

    Associate Professor
    National Taiwan Normal University
    Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China)

    • Co-Author(s)

  • HY

    Hui-Wen Yang, Master degree

    Nation Taiwan Normal University, Department of Health Promotion and Health Education
    Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China)

Disclosure(s):
Ming-Chieh Li, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between vitamin D intake and depressive symptoms in the elderly.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional investigation utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2018. Vitamin D intake was assessed from dietary sources and supplements and was divided into quartiles. Depressive symptom scores were evaluated using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). A PHQ-9 score of 10 or higher was adopted as the criterion for defining depression in the present study. Logistic regression was used to examine whether there was a significant difference between vitamin D intake and depressive symptoms. All models were adjusted for potential confounding factors including demographic variables (sex, age, race, education level, marital status, family poverty income ratio), health status variables (body mass index, alcohol intake, smoking status, physical activity, sleep issues and duration, and the status of chronic diseases), and energy intake.

Results: A total of 9,780 people (women 50.2%) aged ≥60 were included in this study. Among them, 783 (8%) showed depressive symptoms. In the univariate analysis, the quartile intakes of vitamin D were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. After adjusting for all potential confounding factors, compared to the quartile 1 intake level of vitamin D, the odds ratios for quartiles 2 to 4 were 0.974 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.788-1.204), 0.869 (95% CI: 0.694-1.087), and 0.934 (95% CI: 0.740-1.179), respectively.

Conclusions: Although higher intake levels in the upper quartiles showed a protective effect, there was no significant difference between total vitamin D intake and depressive symptoms in the elderly. This lack of association was influenced by education level and the family poverty income ratio, which we consider potential confounding factors in the relationship between vitamin D intake and depressive symptoms.

Funding Sources: Ming-Chieh Li was supported by the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan (NSTC 112-2410-H-003-031).