Viamins B6 and B12 Report

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Increased intake of vitamins B6 and B12 from food and supplements linked to less depression

A report published online on June 2, 2010 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals a lower risk of developing depression among men and women who consume greater amounts of vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago evaluated data from 3,503 participants in the Chicago Health and Aging project, an ongoing study of adults aged 65 and older. Intake of vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folate was calculated from dietary questionnaire responses. Depression was assessed via the 10 item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale administered during follow-up interviews conducted between 1997 and 2009.

Four hundred seventy-one participants reported at least 4 depressive symptoms over up to 12 years of follow-up. Adjusted analysis of the data revealed that higher intakes of both vitamin B6 and B12 from food and supplements were associated with decreased depressive symptoms over the course of follow-up. Each additional 10 milligrams of vitamin B6 and 10 micrograms of vitamin B12 intake were associated with a 2% lower risk of developing depressive symptoms per year. No significant benefit was observed in association with B vitamin intake from food alone, nor was an effect found for folate. The authors note that vitamin B12 from food sources has poor bioavailability and absorption, especially in older individuals. They also suggest that "it is possible that folate is associated with the onset of depressive symptoms but only at insufficient concentrations that are below the range of intake that occur in fortified folic acid populations such as the Chicago Health and Aging Project population."

In their discussion of possible protective mechanisms for the vitamins against depression, the authors remark that a deficiency of vitamin B12 is responsible for a neurological syndrome that includes depressive symptoms, and that pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, the primary biologic form of vitamin B6, is a cofactor in serotonin synthesis, a neurotransmitter that has an important role in mood.

"Our results support the hypotheses that high total intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 are protective of depressive symptoms over time in community-residing older adults," A. Skarupski and her colleagues conclude. "In the assessment and treatment of depressive symptoms in older adults, clinicians and other health care professionals should be mindful of the patient's nutritional status in general, and whether there are vitamin insufficiencies in these nutrients before treatment."

http://www.lef.org/newsletter/2010/0608_Vitamins-B6-B12-from-Food-Supplements-Linked-to-Less-Depression.htm?source=eNewsLetter2010Wk24-1 & key=Article & l=0#article