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Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood and worse cognitive performance in older adults
Wilkins CH, Sheline YI, Roe CM, Birge SJ, Morris JC.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2006-12-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background Vitamin D deficiency is common in older adults and has been implicated in psychiatric and neurologic disorders. This study examined the relationship among vitamin D status, cognitive performance, mood, and physical performance in older adults. Methods A cross-sectional group of 80 participants, 40 with mild Alzheimer disease (AD) and 40 nondemented persons, were selected from a longitudinal study of memory and aging. Cognitive function was assessed using the Short Blessed Test (SBT), Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR; a higher Sum of Boxes score indicates greater dementia severity), and a factor score from a neuropsychometric battery; mood was assessed using clinician's diagnosis and the depression symptoms inventory. The Physical Performance Test (PPT) was used to measure functional status. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured for all participants. Results The mean vitamin D level in the total sample was 18.58 ng/mL (standard deviation: 7.59); 58% of the participants had abnormally low vitamin D levels defined as less than 20 ng/mL. After adjusting for age, race, gender, and season of vitamin D determination, vitamin D deficiency was associated with presence of an active mood disorder (odds ratio: 11.69, 95% confidence interval: 2.04-66.86; Wald chi(2) = 7.66, df = 2, p = 0.022). Using the same covariates in a linear regression model, vitamin D deficiency was associated with worse performance on the SBT (F = 5.22, df = [2, 77], p = 0.044) and higher CDR Sum of Box scores (F = 3.20, df = [2, 77], p = 0.047) in the vitamin D-deficient group. There was no difference in performance on the MMSE, PPT, or factor scores between the vitamin D groups. Conclusions In a cross-section of older adults, vitamin D deficiency was associated with low mood and with impairment on two of four measures of cognitive performance.
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APA 7th
Wilkins, C. H., Sheline, Y. I., Roe, C. M., Birge, S. J., & Morris, J. C. (2006). Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood and worse cognitive performance in older adults. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jgp.0000240986.74642.7c
Vancouver
Wilkins CH, Sheline YI, Roe CM, Birge SJ, Morris JC. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood and worse cognitive performance in older adults. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2006. doi:10.1097/01.jgp.0000240986.74642.7c. PMID: 17138809.
BibTeX
@article{wilkins2006-17138809,
author = {Wilkins, C. H. and Sheline, Y. I. and Roe, C. M. and Birge, S. J. and Morris, J. C.},
title = {{Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood and worse cognitive performance in older adults}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1097/01.jgp.0000240986.74642.7c},
pmid = {17138809},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jgp.0000240986.74642.7c}
}
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Key findings
- Results The mean vitamin D level in the total sample was 18.58 ng/mL (standard deviation: 7.59); 58% of the participants had abnormally low vitamin D levels defined as less than 20 ng/mL.
- After adjusting for age, race, gender, and season of vitamin D determination, vitamin D deficiency was associated with presence of an active mood disorder (odds ratio: 11.69, 95% confidence interval: 2.04-66.86; Wald chi(2) = 7.66, df = 2, p = 0.022).
- Using the same covariates in a linear regression model, vitamin D deficiency was associated with worse performance on the SBT (F = 5.22, df = [2, 77], p = 0.044) and higher CDR Sum of Box scores (F = 3.20, df = [2, 77], p = 0.047) in the vitamin D-deficient group.
- Conclusions In a cross-section of older adults, vitamin D deficiency was associated with low mood and with impairment on two of four measures of cognitive performance.
Why it matters
This cross-sectional study found that 58% of participants had abnormally low vitamin D levels and that vitamin D deficiency was associated with presence of an active mood disorder after adjusting for age, race, gender and season. It reports an association between vitamin D deficiency, low mood and worse cognitive performance, but as a cross-sectional study it cannot show that vitamin D causes or treats dementia.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants80
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 56/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 178 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 80 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 470 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 21.4 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author John C. Morris: h-index 209 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17138809) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 56 / 100 | — |
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