Trauma and Suppliments

What do vitamins and trauma have to do with each other ?

I can hardly believe it’s been such a short time between now and my last post , this is mainly because Im off from school and I find myself back in a coffee shop ………..another Latte ? don’t mind if I do !

Well my interest was started when I was late night reading a research paper trying to link possible low levels of vitamin D in abused children attending hospital with fractures ( E pub 2011 April 11.) . They found no basis for a link , but it got me wondering about how vitamins might play out in abused children.

They may have missed the mark in 2011 , but that didn’t stop Glabska et al 2021 from looking into vitamin D, again and trying to see if there is a link with the Mental health of Children and low vitamin D . This study was a literature based study looking at per reviewed studies up to 2019. Vitamin D is an important vitamin and many Europeans ( except Finland , who eat a lot of fish and have fortified food) have insufficient intake . Low vitamin D is associated with many negative health outcomes including a broad area of mental health. There have been some studies ( M. Zhang et al 2013) the suggested that children with psychiatric disorders might have a higher rate of occurrence of Hypovitiminosis D ( a vitamin D level that is below normal) than is normal . They reported that vitamin D is crucial for mental health, it has the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier, it activates receptors in nerve cells and has a direct impact on the central nervous system and humane behaviour. They concluded that vitamin D has a positive impact on children’s mental health .

This is a very current topic and trials are ongoing , a very recent paper in neuroscience news May 2023 reported on the findings of the ( Finish) ,VIDI trial. The trial investigates the impact of giving children D3 as an early intervention. This ongoing trial relies on follow up questionnaires completed by parents of the current 346 children taking part. Interestingly children who received supplementation above the standard dose had less parent reported depression and anxiety than those who received the standard dose. The trial so far has concluded that a higher dose of vitamin D3 during the first years of life may reduce internalising psychiatric conditions in early school age.

When considering the above trial , we should remember that these children are from Finland and if you remember we said Finland is the only country in Europe with a good level of vitamin D.

Further study from October 2022 by cut et al , the study starts by confirming the importance of Vitamin D and the vitamin D receptors in the brain. This forms part of the nuclear receptor super family ( regulates numerous physiological processes like , metabolism, reproduction , inflammation and the circadian rhythm ). The report now confirmed the changing vitamin d status alters the cytokine ( important in cell signalling) regulation . The vitamin also effects neurotransmitter release ( signalling molecule) , stress responsively , antioxidant and gene/protein expressions.

The research paper also states that there is reliable evidence linking the importance of vitamin D deficiency in the embryo and various conditions including autism and ADHD . This paper is very in-depth and I would advise you to read it if you have an interest in the area . My small brain and the fact that this post is just an overview means ..I won’t go further into the very complicated science involving 1,25(OH)2D3 , VDR , CNS and AVD …….. and also I don’t really understand it fully! The paper does call for further research especially into the possible connection with Alzheimers disease. They do suggest research into vitamin D supplementation as a treatment for psychiatric and neurological disorders.

There have been cases where child abuse has been confused with vitamin D deficiency and visa versa (Amanda messer MD PGY lll June 2015).

So now were looking specifically at vitamin D ?

Well it does seem that the science has brought us here ……

Bonk et al 2020 looked specifically at Vitamin D and childhood abuse in depressive disorders. Bonk , states that childhood trauma is one of the strongest predictors of depression in adults. The risk increases by 10% for abuse and 20% for neglect . The role of genes is strongly pronounced for trauma occurring during childhood and youth.

The study looked particularly at a gene 5-HTTLPR ( a serotonin-transporter linked promotor region , commonly thought to be connected with neuropsychiatric disorders). They looked at this gene mentioned in connection with childhood abuse and symptoms of depression , this area is thought to be moderated by vitamin D.

A questionnaire was used for self reporting of child abuse comprising 34 items with a rated scale to indicate the severity of the abuse. Blood samples were also taken , the results took into account previous reports on gene expression , age ,sex , batch effects and study population.

They found that vitamin D moderates the two way interaction of childhood abuse and 5-HTTLPR on the BDi-II score ( the beck Depression Inventory , multiple choice 21 questionnaire). They described their findings as a significant three-way interaction effect of child abuse. Just as a side note , the BDI-II scores were adjusted for body mass index , physical activity , smoking and the season ( excluding things like winter depression).

The reports suggests that Under chronic stress ( childhood trauma ) the brains homeostasis ( the state of steady) might be under constant challenge. Low vitamin D levels ( 25(OH)D) may lead to lower expression rates of Serotonin , leading to possible depressive symptoms. These only seem to affect current not lifetime depressive disorders though this study . What was clear is that Vitamin D does seem to moderate the interaction between 5-HTTLPR , childhood abuse and depression .They feel that they have proved a strong enough link that supplements of vitamin in D should be used in targeted prevention programmes in subjects exposed to childhood abuse , especially those with low vitamin D (25(OH)D).

Further Research , by J Terock et al 2020 looked into post traumatic stress disorder and reduced vitamin D levels. Their findings suggest that an altered vitamin d metabolism may be involved in the pathophysiology of PTSD . A previous study Terock et al Dec 2020 ( Vitamin D Levels are associated with trait resilience but not depression )found that in contrast to other studies their findings do not provide strong evidence for a strong role for the role of vitamin D in the psychopathology of depression . They did find that low vitamin D is a general risk factor to stress-related psychopathologies.

It does look good for vitamin D , before you go straight out and buy some I should warn you that the British Medical Journal warn that overdosing ( Hypervitaminosis D) is possible and harmful. They point out the case of a man who took over D 150000 IU every day , the recommended dose is 10 mcg or 400 IU , a blood test showed he had 7 times the level required in his bloodstream and required an 8 day hospital stay to flush out his system. Even two months later his vitamin D levels were abnormally high. Its important to know that vitamin D has a half life of approximately 2 months , it can cause excess calcium in the body.

Findings on Vitamin D are promising , but not yet conclusive , a blind study in 2017 looking at victim in D and bipolar depression , admittedly small, found no significant difference in reduction of depressive symptoms. The vitamin D3 supplementation vs Placebo did not improve depression or anxiety ( Marsh et al 2017).

So where are we ? It seems that vitamin D may play an important part in limiting the effects of childhood abuse in relation to depression and possibly anxiety especially if given early . This is really confusing as research is not conclusive , recent studies suggest that giving children with low vitamin D supplements might help over the long term . There are plenty of websites that tell us to take vitamin D for stress and anxiety , some don’t cite any current research to support this . Many of these websites don’t point out the possible side effects of taking vitamin D supplements in larger doses . Some websites have links for you to buy vitamin D from them , I clicked on one of these and It did not show the strength , it even recommended their vitamin D postal test .

I think the jury is out , if you think you might have low vitamin D or might benefit from a supplement its always better to get advice from someone who knows , a healthcare professional who won’t try to sell it to you.

It is tempting , given some of the research to take a daily supplement and see if it makes any difference, but check with your MD first .

Thank you for spending time here , I know there is a lot of content out there , I am only a childhood trauma survivor looking for answers and bringing you along for the ride . I am not a medical professional. Remember, if you are a childhood trauma survivor , you are not alone , there are lots of us out there and we are always here to support you. I hope I find you in a good place , if not , don’t suffer alone , when your ready, reach out , a trusted friend , a trauma trained therapist or a healthcare specialist with trauma training is the place to go , just don’t take advice from quacks on the internet.

Citations

The Influence of Vitamin D Intake and Status on Mental Health in Children: A Systematic Review

Dominika Głąbska ¹, Aleksandra Kołota ¹, Katarzyna Lachowicz ¹, Dominika Skolmowska ¹, Małgorzata Stachoń ¹, Dominika Guzek ²

Affiliations expand

• PMID: 33809478
• PMCID: PMC7999324
• DOI: 10.3390/nu13030952

Free PMC article

Higher Vitamin D Dose in Childhood Linked to Lower Mental Health Risk

FeaturedNeurosciencePsychology

·May 23, 2023

Vitamin D and the Central Nervous System: Causative and Preventative Mechanisms in Brain Disorders

Xiaoying Cui^1,2 and  Darryl W. Eyles^1,2,*

Carsten Carlberg, Academic Editor

Author information Article notes Copyright and License information PMC Disclaimer

Copyright © 2022 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Vitamin D moderates the interaction between 5-HTTLPR and childhood abuse in depressive disorders

Sarah Bonk ¹, Johannes Hertel ^2 3, Helena U Zacharias ², Jan Terock ^2 4, Deborah Janowitz ², Georg Homuth ⁵, Matthias Nauck ^6 7, Henry Völzke ^7 8, Henriette Meyer Zu Schwabedissen ⁹, Sandra Van der Auwera ^2 10, Hans Jörgen Grabe ^2 10

Affiliations collapse

Affiliations

• ¹Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Ellernholzstraße 1-2, 17475, Greifswald, Germany. sarah.bonk@med.uni-greifswald.de.
• ²Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Ellernholzstraße 1-2, 17475, Greifswald, Germany.
• ³Molecular Systems Physiology Group, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
• ⁴Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, HELIOS Klinikum Stralsund, Stralsund, Germany.
• ⁵Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
• ⁶Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
• ⁷DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), University Medicine, Partner Site Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
• ⁸Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
• ⁹Department Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
• ¹⁰German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases DZNE, Site Rostock/Greifswald, Germany.

• PMID: 33372187
• PMCID: PMC7769965
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79388-7

Free PMC article

Posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with reduced vitamin D levels and functional polymorphisms of the vitamin D binding-protein in a population-based sample.

Terock J ¹, 

Hannemann A ², 

Van der Auwera S ³, 

Janowitz D ⁴, 

Spitzer C ⁵, 

Bonk S ⁴, 

Völzke H ⁶, 

Grabe HJ ³

Author information

Affiliations

• 1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, HELIOS Hanseklinikum Stralsund, Rostocker Chaussee 70, 18437 Stralsund, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Greifswald, Ellernholzstraße 1-2, 17475 Greifswald, Germany. (1 author)
• 2. Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, Greifswald, Germany; German Centre for Cardiovascular Research DZHK, Partner Site Greifswald, University Medicine Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Straße, 17475 Greifswald, Germany. (1 author)

doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.07.021. Epub 2017 Jul 22.

Vitamin D supplementation in bipolar depression: A double blind placebo controlled trial

Wendy K Marsh ¹, Jessica L Penny ², Anthony J Rothschild ³

Affiliations expand

• PMID: 28777983
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.07.021