Shashikant Bhausaheb Sabade1 , Balasaheb Baburao Vikhe2 , Ramachandra Girimalappa Latti3 , Muktpal Marotrao Bhalerao4
BACKGROUND Depression is a state of extreme sadness that reaches a point where it affects a person’s day to day activities and also disturbs socio-occupational functioning. Several molecular changes were found in the pathogenesis of depression. Natural antioxidants in the body like vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E were found to be deranged in patients suffering from depression. In many studies deficient levels of vitamin C are constantly observed in patients suffering from depression. METHODS The present observational cases-control study was carried out in the Department of Physiology, Rural Medical College, Loni in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry. Study was done over a period of four years from 2010 to 2014. 183 subjects were recruited for the study. 83 patients were diagnosed with depression and 100 were normal individuals without any psychiatric disorder. A nonprobabilistic international sampling method was adopted for the selection of subjects. RESULTS Significant decrease in vitamin C was observed in patients suffering from depression as compared to normal healthy individuals (p value <0.05). CONCLUSIONS Vitamin C levels decreased significantly in depression. The present study concludes that determination of Vitamin C levels plays an important role in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of patients with depression.
