Brain Sciences, Vol. 13, Pages 1501: The Mediation Role of Sleep Disturbances between Vitamin D and Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study

Brain Sciences, Vol. 13, Pages 1501: The Mediation Role of Sleep Disturbances between Vitamin D and Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study

Brain Sciences doi: 10.3390/brainsci13111501

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

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.