Vitamin D deficiency and its association with Depression in under 18s: A mysterious relationship of sunlight with darkness

Vitamin D deficiency and its association with Depression in under 18s: A mysterious relationship of sunlight with darkness | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Short Report Vitamin D deficiency and its association with Depression in under 18s: A mysterious relationship of sunlight with darkness Dr Hayat Khan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3782184/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Vitamin D receptors are present in areas of the brain involved in mood regulation, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. It is suggested that Vitamin D may modulate the synthesis and release of neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which play crucial roles in mood regulation and are implicated in depression. Vitamin D also has anti-inflammatory properties and can influence immune system functioning. Chronic inflammation has been linked to the development of depression. Vitamin D may help regulate the immune response, reducing inflammation and potentially mitigating depressive symptoms. The deficiency of this vitamin has been previously thought to be not as common as recognized now. This review examined multiple studies to investigate the correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and clinical depression in children and adolescents. While numerous studies conducted on adult cohorts have established a plausible association between Vitamin D deficiency and depression, the body of research focused on individuals under the age of 18 remains significantly limited. Drawing from the existing literature, it is imperative for mental health clinicians to uphold a vigilant clinical approach, emphasizing early identification and intervention for the diagnosis and management of Vitamin D deficiency in this demographic. Psychiatry Depression under 18s Vitamin D deficiency Child and Adolescent Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3782184","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":261901338,"identity":"949394a6-2b14-4bfe-af50-a67ff400d89a","order_by":0,"name":"Dr Hayat Khan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA80lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDCCA2xsQPK/HAMP8wEGxga4MEEtzMYMPGwJpGlJbODhMSBOC9/tY2kPfu5gS9xw5sw3iZ87bOQY2A8fYOY5g1uL5Lm044a9Z3iMN5zt3SbZeyYN6MK0BGaeG7i1GJxhb5PgbZOQ3XCedxuQcTixQYLHgJnnA34tkn/bDBg3nOd5BmQQpYXtmDRvW4LihrM9bNIIW/A4TPIMW5q0bNsBY8kzx4ytZdvSjNmAfjk4B4/3+c6wmUm+bTsgx3cm+eHNt202cvzshw8+eHMMtxZkwCIBIkHRdIA4DcD4xOPnUTAKRsEoGMkAAPrVU/NT9ecKAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9915-7517","institution":"Sheffield Children's NHS Trust","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"Dr","firstName":"Hayat","middleName":"","lastName":"Khan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-12-20 14:04:45","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3782184/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3782184/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVitamin D deficiency and its association with Depression in under 18s: A mysterious relationship of sunlight with darkness\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Depression, under 18s, Vitamin D deficiency, Child and Adolescent","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3782184/v2","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3782184/v2","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eVitamin D receptors are present in areas of the brain involved in mood regulation, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. 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