The effect of high dose of intramuscular vitamin D supplement injections on depression in patients with type 2 diabetes and vitamin D deficiency: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Abstract Aim Although antidepressants can relieve the symptoms of depression in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus, the effect of vitamin D supplementation as an antidepressant remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of intramuscular vitamin D supplement injections on depression and anthropometric indices in patients with type 2 diabetes who had vitamin D deficiency. Methods In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 50 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who had vitamin D deficiency were randomly divided into two groups of 25 participants. The experimental group received 200,000 IU of vitamin D injection at week 0 and week 4 of the study. Anthropometric indices, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and Beck depression test were evaluated at the beginning and after 8 weeks. Results There were no significant differences in the baseline measures of 25(OH)D concentrations between the experimental and the non-experimental groups (P=0.78). No significant correlation was observed between the depression score and serum 25(OH)D concentrations (r =-0.008, P=0.95). After two months, serum 25(OH)D concentrations significantly increased in the experimental group compared with the non-experimental group (p Conclusions The intramuscular vitamin D supplement injections increased serum 25(OH)D concentrations in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who had vitamin D deficiency, while it had no significant effect on the depression status. ( http://www.irct.ir:IRCT20171003036539N2 ).