Vitamin D Nutritional Status and Antenatal Depressive Symptoms in African American Women

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is associated with depression; however, no studies have examined the relationship of vitamin D and antenatal depression. Antenatal depression increases the risk of adverse birth outcomes and poorer postpartum maternal and infant health. African American women are at increased risk for vitamin D deficiency and antenatal depression. Thus, we examined if early pregnancy vitamin D nutrition (VDN) was associated with antenatal depressive symptoms among African American women in the second trimester of pregnancy. Methods: Women (n = 178) were recruited from obstetrics clinics of a large health system. VDN was assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD). Depression symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale; CES-D >= 16 equates with criteria for clinical depression. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of log-transformed 25-OHD and elevated depression symptoms (CES-D >= 16). Results: Mean 25-OHD was 13.4 +/- 8.4 ng/mL; most women (82.6%, n = 147) were vitamin D inadequate or deficient (25-OHD<20ng/mL). Mean CES-D was 15.2 +/- 10.7, and 74 (41.6%) women had a CES-D >= 16, suggestive of clinical depression. A significant inverse relationship was found between log (25-OHD) and CES-D >= 16 (odds ratio [OR] 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.29-0.99, p = 0.046). For every 1-unit increase in log (25-OHD) (corresponding to similar to 2.72 ng/mL increase in 25-OHD), the odds of CES-D >= 16 decreased by 46%. Conclusions: African American women with lower VDN exhibit increased depressive symptoms. Research on vitamin D supplementation for reducing antenatal depressive symptoms is needed.