Dietary intake of B_6-9-12 vitamins, serum homocysteine levels and their association with depressive symptoms: The Zutphen Elderly Study

Objective: Low B-vitamin status and high levels of serum homocysteine are found in depressed inpatients, but results of population-based studies of this association are inconclusive. We investigated whether a low dietary intake of B_6-9-12 vitamins and high levels of serum homocysteine are associated with depressive symptoms in elderly men. Methods: The study sample included a total of 332 men aged 70-90 years who were free from cardiovascular diseases and diabetes at baseline in 1990. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale at baseline in 1990 and dietary factors with the crosscheck dietary history method in 1985 and 1990. Serum levels of homocysteine were obtained in 1985. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Dietary intake of folate (-1.19, 95% CI -2.03; -0.36) and vitamin B₆ (-2.09, 95% CI -2.92; -1.26) per standard deviation increase was associated with lower levels of serum homocysteine, while vitamin B₁₂ was not associated with serum homocysteine. Intake of folate, vitamin B₆, vitamin B₁₂ and levels of serum homocysteine were not related to depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Our results do not support the hypothesis that a low dietary intake of B_6-9-12 vitamins and high levels of serum homocysteine are related to depression in healthy elderly men.