Gender difference in vitamin A levels in first-episode drug-naïve depression patients: a case-control and 24-weeks follow-up study.

Depression is one of the major causes of disability in societies worldwide. However, only a few studies have been conducted to analyze the relationship between vitamin A levels and depression. This study aimed to explore the vitamin A levels in the plasma of first-episode drug-naïve depression patients. 48 healthy controls and 75 first-episode drug-naïve outpatients were recruited in our research and a total of 18 patients were followed for 24 weeks. There was no difference in plasma vitamin A levels among healthy controls and patients with depression. After 24 weeks antidepressant treatment, plasma vitamin A levels were decreased. Interestingly, this alteration of vitamin A was only found in female patients. Moreover, correlation analyses showed that plasma vitamin A levels were significantly associated with depressive symptomatic index only in female depression patients. We found that the levels of vitamin A were decreased in female patients with depression during antidepressant therapy. Further study of gender difference in vitamin A levels is needed to reveal the mechanism.