A new population based study in the June 2, 2010 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that taking B-vitamin supplements like vitamin b6 and vitamin B-12 may reduce risk of depression.

Previous studies have linked B-vitamin deficiencies to depression.  But population based prospective studies are rare.

The study of 3503 subjects led by Sharupski K.A. and colleagues from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found higher total intakes of vitamin B-6 and B-12 were associated with decreased risk of depression during a 12-year period.

Sharupski et al. surveyed 3503 biracial (59% African American) adults aged 65 or older who were involved in the Chicago Health and Aging project for incidence depression cases and intakes of B-vitamins.

The researchers found each 10 additional milligrams of vitamin b-6 and 10 additional micrograms of vitamin B-12 were correlated with 2 percent lower risk of depressive symptoms per year.

However, they did not find any association between depressive symptoms and dietary intakes of these vitamins or folate.

The association remained significant even after adjustments for smoking, alcohol consumption, widowhood, care-giving status, cognitive function, physical disability and medical conditions.

The researchers concluded that high total intakes of vitamins B6 and B-12 including supplementation are protective against depressive symptoms over time in older adults.

David Liu