. . . new study suggests vitamin D may prevent dementia and depression

In the U.S., Parkinson’s disease affects about 1 million people…. globally, it climbs to about 5 million. And these numbers are expected to double by 2030.

According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, approximately 60% of patients with Parkinson’s disease suffer from depression. Plus, researchers estimate about 30% of these people have dementia.

But now, new research suggests vitamin D may prevent or delay the onset of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms in Parkinson’s patients.

A research team from the Oregon Health and Sciences University said previous research demonstrated that vitamin D plays a significant role in the central nervous system. Specifically, it assisted in neurodevelopment and stabilizing mitochondrial function.

For this new study, the team set out to see how vitamin D levels affected cognitive impairment and mood in 286 patients with Parkinson’s disease. Study investigators tested participants on mental function, memory, verbal fluency, reasoning ability…as well as depression. That same day they measured vitamin D levels.

The results? Test subjects who had higher blood levels of vitamin D experienced less severe physical symptoms, better memory, and decreased depressed mood.

Vitamin D proved most significant before onset of dementia

Of the test group, 225 patients suffered symptoms of dementia, 61 did not. When considering all patients, those who had the highest blood levels of vitamin D demonstrated better recall on verbal learning tests. However, when dividing participants into dementia and non-dementia groups, higher vitamin D levels significantly improved cognition only in patients free of dementia.

“The fact that the relationship between vitamin D concentration and cognitive performance seemed more robust in the non-demented subset suggests that earlier intervention before dementia is present may be more effective,” said study author Dr. Amie Peterson. “We know mild cognitive impairment may predict the future development of dementia,” she added.

Put simply—and what we’ve been saying all along—high vitamin D levels appear to prevent numerous diseases.

Not the first study linking Vitamin D and depression

We’ve said before how vitamin D deficiency is an American epidemic. An estimated three-fourths of all U.S. teens and adults are vitamin D deficient. Yet, according to a January 2013 press release by Orthomolecular Medicine, vitamin D is also the most studied vitamin…having nearly 34,000 medical papers with vitamin D in the title or abstract. And the overwhelming evidence shows low vitamin D is linked to numerous diseases…including mental health illnesses, like depressive mood disorders.

In fact, research published in multiple journals the past few years—performed on chronically depressed individuals—confirm this association between low vitamin D blood levels and depression. Plus, we’ve written before on how older adults with low blood levels of vitamin D were 11 times more likely to be depressed.

Like previous studies, this latest research on Parkinson’s patients confirms that low vitamin D negatively affects mood.

The good news is, if you suffer any number of depressive mood disorders, you don’t need to rely on a doctor’s prescription. Correcting a vitamin D deficiency may be the quickest, safest, and most effective way to get out from under chronic depression…and enjoy life again.

Feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start?