Effect of vitamin C on depression in menopausal women with balanced diet: A Randomized clinical trial

Depression is one of the most common mental disorder caused by stress. To combat with stress-induced chemical changes in biological systems، firstly antioxidant defense and then non-enzymatic antioxidants such as vitamin C، E and Beta Carotene are involved. The present study was performed with the aim of with improving stress-induced depression evaluate the effect of vitamin C on depression in postmenopausal women. This double-blind، randomized controlled trial was performed on 150 menopausal women in Shiraz Hafez hospital at 2013. The participants were placed in two groups of vitamin C and placebo. The intervention group received 500 mg of vitamin C twice daily for six months and a control group received a placebo with the same method. Beck questionnaire was completed before and after the intervention and depression score was assessed. Data was analyzed with use of SPSS version 15 and Paired t-test and repeated measures of variance analysis and analysis of covariance. P By comparing depression scores before and after the intervention، there was no significant difference between two groups (P>0. 05). Also، no significant difference was observed between vitamin c group (P=0. 365 and) the placebo group (P=0. 215) in terms of depression scores before and after intervention. Results of the studies reported that the effects of vitamin C and other antioxidants is as an adjunctive effective factor in the treatment of depression and anxiety. This study did not obtain this result and requires further investigation.