<p> Depression is a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide, especially for women. No nutrition recommendations exist for depression. Oral contraceptives (OCs) have become the leading form of pregnancy prevention in the United States. Studies have associated OC use with impaired nutrient status, specifically folate, vitamin B<sub>12</sub>, and vitamin B<sub>6</sub>, which also affect brain functions. Dietary folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6 self-reported intakes were used to determine the relationship between depression in women who used OCs (<i>n</i> = 34) in a selected cohort (<i> n</i> = 409) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003–2008. OC users were more depressed than non-OC users; depression was associated with various quartile levels of vitamin intake (<i>p</i> <.001). No benefit was observed with intakes which exceeded RDAs for non-OC users; OC users were less depressed when intakes exceeded RDAs for folate, vitamin B<sub>12</sub>, and vitamin B6 by 13%, 75%, and 7%, respectively. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1604887 |
| Date | 11 December 2015 |
| Creators | Zolfaghari, Sara S. |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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