AUTHOR=Ceolin Gilciane , Mano Giulia Pipolo Rodrigues , Hames Natália Schmitt , Antunes Luciana da Conceição , Brietzke Elisa , Rieger Débora Kurrle , Moreira Júlia Dubois 

TITLE=Vitamin D, Depressive Symptoms, and Covid-19 Pandemic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.670879

DOI=10.3389/fnins.2021.670879

ISSN=1662-453X

ABSTRACT=Since the COVID-19 outbreak, studies across diverse countries have strongly pointed towards the emergence of a mental health crisis, with a dramatic increase in the prevalence of depressive psychopathology and suicidal tendencies. Nutritional factors such as vitamin D have been associated with an increased risk of mental health problems as well as individual responses to stress. Studies have discussed the relationship between low serum vitamin D concentrations and depression, suggesting that maintaining adequate concentrations of serum vitamin D seems to have a protective effect against depression. The optimal vitamin D status was found to contribute to improved serotonergic neurotransmission deficits in an experimental depression model by regulating serotonin synthesis. The signaling of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, the active form of vitamin D, through VDR induces the expression of the gene TPH2, influences the expression of serotonin reuptake transporter (SERT) as well as the levels of monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A), the enzyme responsible for serotonin catabolism. Vitamin D also presents a relevant link with chronobiological interplay. Evidence suggests a mediatory role of vitamin D in the sleep-wake cycle since the lower concentrations of vitamin D were correlated with impaired sleep quality and abbreviated sleep duration, point to its influence on melatonin metabolism, which is synthesized from the metabolism of serotonin.  In this Perspective, we discussed the significant role of vitamin D in the elevation of stress-related depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.