Randomized study of the effects of vitamin D and/or magnesium supplementation on mood, serum levels of BDNF, inflammation, and SIRT1 in obese women with mild to moderate depressive symptoms

ABSTRACT

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of vitamin D and/or magnesium supplementation on mood, serum levels of BDNF, inflammation, and SIRT1 in obese women with mild to moderate depressive symptoms.

Methods

In this trial, the 108 obese women with mild to moderate depressive symptoms were randomly allocated into 4 groups: (1) co- supplementation group (n = 27): receiving a 50000 IU vitamin D soft gel weekly + a 250- mg magnesium tablet daily; (2) vitamin D group (n = 27): receiving a 50000 IU vitamin D soft gel weekly + a magnesium placebo daily; (3) magnesium group (n = 27): receiving a vitamin D placebo weekly + a 250- mg magnesium tablet daily; (4) control group (n = 27): receiving a vitamin D placebo weekly + a magnesium placebo daily, for 8 weeks. Before and after the intervention, anthropometric indices, depressive symptoms, serum levels of BDNF, 25(OH)-D, inflammation, and SIRT1, were measured.

Results

At the end of the study, ANCOVA demonstrated significant differences between the 4 groups in 25(OH)-D, magnesium, TNF-α, IL-6, and BDNF levels. But, we found no significant differences in terms of hs-CRP and SIRT1 levels. A significant reduction in depression score was observed in 3 intervention groups and also in control group. No significant differences in BDI-II score were shown among the 4 groups at the end of the intervention.

Conclusion

Vitamin D plus magnesium supplementation in obese women with mild to moderate depressive symptoms has beneficial influences on mood, serum levels of BDNF, inflammation, and SIRT1.

KEYWORDS:

• Vitamin D
• magnesium
• obese women
• mood
• inflammation
• SIRT1
• BDNF

Acknowledgements

B. A. and M. V. designed this study. BA conducted the study. PS analyzed the data. BA and MV drafted the manuscript. PS and MV critically revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This protocol, approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the National Institute for Medical Research Development (NIMAD), is in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (approval number: IR.NIMAD.REC.1398.181). Each subject signed an informed consent form. This investigation was registered on the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT registration number: IRCT20090822002365N23).

Consent for publication

All authors have given consent for the paper to be published by the corresponding author.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, M. V. The data are not publicly available due to restrictions, e.g. their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by Elite Researcher Grant Committee under award number 982923 from the National Institute for Medical Research Development (NIMAD), Tehran, Iran, (Grant recipient: Prof. Mohammadreza Vafa).

Notes on contributors

Behnaz Abiri

Behnaz Abiri, Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences, Obesity Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Parvin Sarbakhsh

Parvin Sarbakhsh, Ph.D. in Biostatistics, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Mohammadreza Vafa

Mohammadreza Vafa, Ph.D., Professor of Nutritional Sciences, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.