That is the finding of a scientific article published in the journal PLoS ONEwhich is based on the experiences of American war veterans.
There is a particularly high risk of suicide in this group.
Veterans are up to 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than other adults, according to the American Psychological Association.
Significant difference between groups
In the study, the researchers analyzed data from 1.3 million veterans registered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The researchers looked at data from the people who had received medication or had at least one interaction with a pharmacy between 2010 and 2018.
A significant proportion of them were prescribed vitamin D supplements as part of their treatment – allowing the researchers to compare that group with the group without vitamin D.
Based on this data, they found a remarkable difference – the number of ‘suicide attempts and self-injurious behaviors’ was lower in the group that received vitamin D than in the group that did not receive vitamin D.
The veterans who received vitamin D2 supplements were about 48 percent less likely to attempt suicide than the group without the vitamin, and the veterans who received D3 supplements were just over 45 percent less likely than the no-supplement group.
The researchers also emphasize that the effect was – for inexplicable reasons – even stronger in African-American veterans.
In that group, the researchers found a whopping 60 percent reduction in the risk of suicide attempts and self-harm.
However, the research also has limitations. Because the researchers’ data only included people who received prescription vitamin D, it could be that the people in the control group bought the vitamins without a prescription.
It is also unclear whether factors other than vitamin D intake alone may have influenced the results of the study. For example, it is unknown whether the people who received prescription vitamin D had a larger social safety net, or other benefits that play a role.
It is therefore necessary that the findings are substantiated with further studies.
*If you suffer from suicidal thoughts, you can contact the suicide prevention helpline 24 hours a day on 0800-0113 or chat with a counselor on www.113.nl.