Honor Whiteman

24 July 2014 - MNT

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Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin found in certain foods, such as oily fish. However, the body's main source of vitamin D is from the sun.

According to the team, schizophrenia tends to be more prevalent in cold climates with high latitudes. Since vitamin D levels are primarily influenced by sunlight exposure, this spurred their research.

The researchers found that, compared with healthy participants, individuals with schizophrenia had much lower levels of vitamin D in their blood.

Around 65% of patients with schizophrenia had vitamin D deficiency, according to the researchers.

In detail, they found that vitamin D levels in subjects with schizophrenia were 5.91 ng/ml lower than those of healthy participants.

The researchers calculated that participants with vitamin D deficiency were 2.16 times more likely to have schizophrenia, compared with those whose vitamin D levels were normal.

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