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.