A recent study suggests that supplementing low vitamin D levels may have a critical benefit for certain people: a lower likelihood of suicidal ideation.
Over the course of eight years, researchers discovered that people who were given vitamin D supplements were about 50% less likely to commit suicide than those who were not.
How Could It Help Ward Off Suicide?
The study, which was published in the journal PLoS ONE, adds to a growing body of evidence linking vitamin D insufficiency to depression or other types of mental disease.
It also provides a potential new avenue for reducing self-harm and suicide among veterans, who are 1.5 times more likely than other adults to die by suicide, according to the American Psychological Association.
The researchers studied data from hundreds of thousands of people identified in Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) records to reach that conclusion. They sought individuals who had at least one medical or pharmaceutical interaction between 2010 and 2018.
The researchers then compared the veterans in that group who were administered vitamin D by the VA to similar, control patients who were not given supplements to see if there was a change in the frequency of suicide attempts or reports of self-harm behavior.
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Suicide Rates
They discovered that the unadjusted rate of suicide attempts and self-harm in the control group was roughly 0.36%, compared to 0.2% in the treated groups—a nearly 44% difference. Vitamin D2 supplements were related to a 48.8% reduction in attempted suicide risk, whereas D3 supplements were associated with a 44.8% reduction.
The researchers discovered that the association between vitamin D supplementation and lower suicide risk was much stronger among Black veterans. Supplementation was associated with a 60% reduction in the probability of suicide attempts and self-harm in that subgroup.
According to a 2018 review research, between 42% and 50% of the U.S. population may be deficient in vitamin D, with Hispanic and Black individuals faring worse than their white counterparts.
Vitamin D is generated in the skin during midday Sun exposure, however, persons with darker pigmentation may need more strong UV light exposure to make enough of the vitamin. It’s a tradeoff between the UV-ray protection melanin provides and the need for some UV exposure.
Another 2020 study of over 150,000 Korean veterans discovered that individuals with extremely low D levels were much more prone to suicidal thinking. Other studies, however, have found no detrimental effects of supplementation on psychiatric health.
Nonetheless, the latest study supports the notion that vitamin D may have a role in depression and suicidal conduct. However, there are certain drawbacks, as with any research.
People should use caution when consuming large doses of this vitamin. Vitamin D pills in excessive doses might make you unwell and harm your kidneys. The human body can only absorb so much vitamin D before it accumulates in our organs.
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