B Vitamins fight depression

Consuming more B vitamins may help adults fight off depression as they age, according to a new study (Am J Clin Nutr. ePub 2010 June 2. DOI:10.3945/ajcn.2010.29413). In a study out of Rush University Medical Center, researchers examined whether dietary intakes of vitamins B6, B12 or folate were related to the onset of depression in a cohort of older adults. The seven-year study included 3,503 adults (aged 65+) from the Chicago Health and Aging project. Dietary assessment was made by food frequency questionnaire, while incident depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.

After adjusting for age, sex, race, education, income and antidepressant medication use, the team found higher total intakesincluding use of dietary supplementsof vitamins B6 and B12 were associated with decreased likelihood of depression for up to 12 years of follow-up. Each 10 additional milligrams of vitamin B6 and increase of 10 mg of B12 were associated with 2% lower odds of depressive symptoms per year.

Kimberly Skarupski, Ph.D., the lead researcher, told Reuters Health the results emphasize the importance of consuming a generally healthy diet. Reuters reported the subjects in the Rush University study consumed between 0.6 mg/d to 200 mg/d of B6, and 0.3 mcg/d to 266 mcg/d of B12. The RDI for B6 in older adults is 1.7 mg/d for men and 1.5 mg/d for women; the RDI for B12 is 2.4 mcg/d. Both vitamins support healthy functioning of the nervous system, while overt B12 deficiency is associated with cognitive and mood dysfunction.