Relationship Between Serum Vitamin D Levels and Symptoms of Depression in Stroke Patients

OBJECTIVE To investigate the correlation between depressive symptoms and serum vitamin D levels in stroke patients. METHODS In total, 126 stroke patients were analyzed. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) concentration of each patient was used to determine their vitamin D status. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Functional status was evaluated with the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI). We compared the clinical questionnaires of a vitamin D-deficient group and a normal group, and evaluated the correlations between BDI-II, PHQ-9, K-MBI, and serum 25-OHD levels. RESULTS In the vitamin D-deficient group, BDI-II (16.0±12.1) and PHQ-9 (7.4±4.2) scores were significantly higher than those of the normal group (BDI-II, 9.1±7.2; PHQ-9, 4.2±2.9; p<0.01). In a Spearman correlation analysis, a significant negative correlation was found between serum 25-OHD levels and BDI-II (Spearman r=0.177, p=0.048), but there were no significant correlations between serum 25-OHD levels and PHQ-9 or K-MBI. CONCLUSION Vitamin D deficiency was correlated with the symptoms of depression in stroke patients.