The Correlation between Depression and Folate Deficiency

Abstract

Background: Folate is a naturally occurring B vitamin, is needed in the brain for the synthesis of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. Thus, previous researches suggested that folate levels play an important role in the etiology and course of depression. However, the literature has been inconsistent regarding differences in folate level between individuals with and without depression. The present metaanalysis synthesized the results of previous studies to examine whether individuals with depression had lower levels of folate than individuals without depression. Aim of the Study: to assess the relationship between Depression and Folate deficiency. Methods: A review of the scientific literature (PubMed Search 1994 to 2017) Pubmed, Embase and CENTRAL were searched to identify randomized controlled trials that investigated The Correlation between Depression and Folate Deficiency as the primary outcome. Identification of papers and data extraction was performed by two independent researchers. We searched for relevant trials in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (from 1946), Embase (from 1974), the Transfusion Evidence Library (from 1980), and ongoing trial databases; all searches current to October 2017. Results: 8 studies were included enrolling 173000 participants; 1813 patients with depression and 15487 control subjects. Pooling of all estimates showed a significant correlation between folate status and depression (OR pooled unadjusted = 1.41; 95% CI 1.19 to 1.82), (OR pooled adjusted = 1.39; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.76). Conclusion: Low folate and B12 serum levels seem to be associated with depression Folate has been linked to depression and there is a strong body of evidence suggesting the introduction of folate supplement in the prevention and treatment of depression at the population and individual levels.

The Role of Supplements in Treatment of Depression

“…In addition to depression preventing effect, folate could enhance patient body response to the antidepressant medication. Studies suggest that 800 micrograms folic acid daily and 1 mg vitamin B12 daily could be tried to improve depression treatment outcomes [49,50].…”

Folate supplementation as a beneficial add‐on treatment in relieving depressive symptoms: A meta‐analysis of meta‐analyses

“…Folate or vitamin B9 is one of the water‐soluble vitamins that may play a role in depression (Lyon et al., 2020 ). Folate plays a fundamental role in maintaining one‐carbon metabolism for cell division and nucleic acid synthesis, regulation of gene expression, interconversion of amino acids and neurotransmitter synthesis, and neurological development during pregnancy and infancy (Gianfredi et al., 2022 ; Himayda et al., 2018 ; Hoepner et al., 2021 ; Jin et al., 2022 ; Xie et al., 2019 ; Yang et al., 2021 ). Growing research demonstrated that depression might be linked to folate deficiency.…”

“…However, some studies also showed that low‐serum folate levels have been positively associated with depression (Huang et al., 2018 ; Kaner et al., 2015 ; Khalili et al., 2022 ; Lin et al., 2020 ; Seppälä et al., 2013 ), whereas others have found no difference (Gargari et al., 2012 ; Gilbody et al., 2007 ; Kendrick et al., 2008 ). As a result, a substantial body of evidence suggests the introduction of supplemental folate in preventing and treating depression at the population and individual levels (Himayda et al., 2018 ). Figure 1 shows how folate could be related to depression.…”