Vitamin B12 deficiency linked to depression in women

May 10, 2000

By Deutsch

NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters Health) - Older women who have a vitamin B12

deficiency may be at risk for severe depression, a new study has found.

Researchers from the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, land,

discovered that disabled women over age 65 who had a vitamin B12 deficiency had

a risk of depression that was more than twice as high as women who were not

deficient in the vitamin. The study looked at women who were living in the

community, and did not include women in nursing homes or psychiatric

institutions.

" It should be an alarming sign that we found it in this population, " said Dr.

Penninx of the Sticht Center on Aging in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Past research in patients institutionalized for depression have had similar

findings, according to Penninx, lead author of the report published in the May

issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

It is not clear if low levels of vitamin B12 were a cause or the result of

depression, because depressed people tend to not eat as well as happier

individuals, Penninx told Reuters Health. " We need to do more research. "

Vitamin B12 is commonly found in the diet, but is also available in supplement

form, Penninx noted.

While it is too early to tell if giving depressed people vitamin B12 will help

relieve the depression, Penninx advises physicians and the public to consider

that the elderly in particular may be prone to a deficiency of this vitamin. " I

certainly suggest it is something we should screen for, " she said.

Penninx and colleagues used data from the Women's Health and Aging Study, in

which 700 women over 65 (most in their mid-70s) were interviewed and had blood

samples taken for analysis.

Overall, 14% of the women were mildly depressed and 17% were severely depressed.

Blood tests revealed that a deficiency in vitamin B12 was relatively common.

Twenty-seven percent of the severely depressed women were deficient in the

vitamin, compared with 17% of the mildly depressed women and 15% of their

happier counterparts.

Lack of the vitamin was associated with severe, but not mild depression,

according to the report. This may be because the researchers used a very

stringent definition of severe depression, Penninx explained. It would be

expected that many elderly women with physical disabilities are distressed at

their condition but not necessarily depressed, she added.

SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry 2000;157:715-721.

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