| Abstract |
OBJECTIVE: The associations of vitamin B(12), folate, and homocysteine
with depression were examined in a population-based study. METHOD: The
authors screened 3,884 elderly people for depressive symptoms. Subjects
with positive screening results had psychiatric workups. Folate, vitamin
B(12), and homocysteine blood levels were compared in 278 persons with
depressive symptoms, including 112 with depressive disorders, and 416
randomly selected reference subjects. Adjustments were made for age,
gender, cardiovascular disease, and functional disability. RESULTS:
Hyperhomocysteinemia, vitamin B(12) deficiency, and to a lesser extent,
folate deficiency were all related to depressive disorders. For folate
deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia, the association with depressive
disorders was substantially reduced after adjustment for functional
disability and cardiovascular disease, but for vitamin B(12) this appeared
independent. CONCLUSIONS: The association of vitamin B(12) and folate with
depressive disorders may have different underlying mechanisms. Vitamin
B(12) may be causally related to depression, whereas the relation with
folate is due to physical comorbidity. |