Vitamin D: Does it play a role in psychiatry?

Some people may be surprised to see a psychiatrist writing about a bone vitamin, but with recent advances in biomedical science and research, a number of non-skeletal diseases including major mental illnesses have been found, to be associated with vitamin d deficiency. since its discovery in 1921, vitamin d is well-known for its role in calcium homeostasis and bone health, while inadequate levels of vitamin d have been associated with bone disorders such as rickets, osteomalacia, andosteoporosis. however, these disorders can be considered the tip of vitamin d deficiency iceberg. the recent findings that most body tissues and cells including the brain have vitamin d receptors, has provided new insights into the function of this vitamin.