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African American women with lower VDN exhibit increased depressive symptoms. Research on vitamin D supplementation for reducing antenatal depressive symptoms is needed.

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Purpose Vitamin D deficiency and elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines have been associated individually with postpartum depression (PPD). African American women are at increased risk for prenatal vitamin D deficiency, inflammation, and prenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms, but biological risk factors for PPD in this population have rarely been tested. This prospective study tested whether low prenatal vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25[OH]D) predicted PPD symptomatology in pregnant African American women, and whether high levels of prenatal inflammation interacted with low 25(OH)D in effects on PPD symptoms. Methods Vitamin D status was measured in the first trimester in a sample of 91 African American pregnant women who also had a second trimester blood sample assayed for inflammatory markers. Depressive symptoms were assessed at a postpartum visit. Results An inverse association between prenatal log 25(OH)D and PPD symptomatology approached significance (β = -0.209, p = 0.058), and interleukin-6 and IL-6/IL-10 ratio significantly moderated the effect. Among women with higher levels of inflammatory markers, lower prenatal log 25(OH)D was associated with significantly higher PPD symptoms (p <0.05). Conclusion These preliminary results are intriguing because if replicable, simple translational opportunities, such as increasing vitamin D status in pregnant women with elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines, may reduce PPD symptoms.