Serum Vitamin D, Sleep Duration, and Depressive Symptoms among U.S. Adults: A Cross-sectional Analysis of NHANES
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Vitamin D has been linked to mental health, but the relationship between serum vitamin D and depressive symptoms remains inconsistent. Sleep duration is also strongly related to depression and may provide important context for understanding this association. Focusing on sleep duration as a potential modifying factor, this research explored whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D is associated with depressive symptoms among American adults. Publicly accessible NHANES data served as the source for the present analysis.Depressive symptoms were assessed using the PHQ-9, and serum vitamin D was measured as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration. Sleep duration was included as both a covariate and a possible effect modifier. Exploratory data analysis was first conducted to describe sample characteristics and depressive symptom prevalence across vitamin D groups. Logistic regression models were then fitted to derive odds ratios, both unadjusted and adjusted for covariates. The results showed that vitamin D deficiency appeared to be associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, but the association was not statistically significant after adjusting for covariates.Sleep duration showed a stronger pattern in the model. Overall, these findings suggest that the vitamin D–depression relationship should not be considered in isolation; sleep duration offers valuable context for future nutritional epidemiology research.
Source: Theoretical and Natural Science
Author: Yuheng Li
Institution: New York University
Language: English
Topic: Vitamin D Research Studies
Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7213974781