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The study published Monday Scientific Reports People with depression and vitamin D deficiency were found to be 2.2 times more likely to experience difficulty in daily life than people with sufficient vitamin D levels and no symptoms of depression.
Depression was associated with a 49% increased likelihood of having difficulty performing instrumental activities of daily living, the more complex activities of daily living. Vitamin D deficiency alone did not result in problems with instrumental activities of daily living.
The researchers looked at instrumental activities of daily living and activities of daily living. Instrumental activities of daily living (using public transportation, managing one’s finances, and independently managing medications) are more complex than activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, and independently using the toilet). When a person is unable to complete these tasks independently, this indicates a decline in function and an increased need for care.
The study focused on 1,781 community-dwelling older adults aged 50 years and older as part of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging dataset. Data were collected between 2015 and 2016. Among participants, 14.6% had impairments in activities of daily living and 47.9% had impairments in activities of daily living. 59.7% had vitamin D deficiency and 33.2% experienced depressive symptoms.
Participants were divided into four groups: those with sufficient vitamin D and no depression, those with sufficient vitamin D and depression, those with vitamin D deficiency and no depression, and those with vitamin D deficiency and depression.
The authors said that preventive measures to keep older people physically and socially active and to maintain optimal vitamin D levels are important to prevent depression and functional impairment.
“The main findings of this study showed that vitamin D insufficiency and, primarily, the presence of co-occurring depressive symptoms increased the prevalence of functional impairment and impaired performance in both activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living,” the authors wrote.
