Can vitamin D status influence the effect of stress on planning and problem-solving? A randomized control trial

Anita L. Hansen; Gina   Ambroziak; David M.  Thornton; James C.  Mundt; Rachel E.  Kahn; Lisbeth  Dahl; Leif  Waage; Daniel  Kattenbraker; Bjørn  Grung

doi:10.29219/fnr.v67.8970

Anita L. Hansen Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; and Centre for Research and Education in Forensic Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
Gina Ambroziak Department of Health Services, Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
David M. Thornton Department of Health Services, Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, Madison, Wisconsin; and FASTR, LLC 1213 N. Sherman Avenue, Suite 334 Madison, United States
James C. Mundt Department of Health Services, Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Rachel E. Kahn Department of Health Services, Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Lisbeth Dahl Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
Leif Waage Department of Health Services, Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Daniel Kattenbraker Department of Health Services, Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Bjørn Grung Department of Chemistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29219/fnr.v67.8970

Keywords: vitamin D status, wintertime, problem-solving, planning, stress resilience

Abstract

Background: Nutritional interventions may serve as a stress resilience strategy with important implications for human health.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation throughout wintertime on problem-solving and planning abilities during stressful circumstances.

Design: A total of 77 male inpatients with a mean age of 48 years (range 31–81) and stress-related mental health disorders were randomly assigned into a Vitamin D supplement group (daily intake of 40 μg) or a placebo supplement group (Control) (daily intake of 120 mg olive oil). The intervention period was from January 2018 to May 2018. The means and standard deviations for vitamin D status (25-hydroxyvitamin D3, nmol/L), pre- and post-test, respectively, were 58(21) and 46(15) for the Control group, and 63(18) and 76(21) for the Vitamin D group. Problem-solving and planning abilities were measured by the Tower of London (ToL) task pre- (midwinter) and post- (spring) supplement intervention. The ToL task was performed during exposure to distracting noise.

Results: The results revealed that vitamin D supplementation throughout the winter had a significant effect on number of correct responses on easier (1 and 2 move) ToL problems during stress; the Vitamin D group improved significantly from pre- to post-test, whereas the Control group did not. In addition, the Vitamin D group had significantly more correct responses than the Control group on post-test. The improved performance was not related to a speed-accuracy trade off effect; both groups showed significantly decreased planning times from pre- to post-test. The intervention did not differentially affect task performance on the more difficult (3 to 5 move) ToL problems. For the more demanding problems, IQ seemed to explain most of the variance regarding accuracy. Age explained most of the variance associated with task planning time.

Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation seemed to improve resilience to stress, but it was limited to performance of easier tasks

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1.
McCann JC, Ames, BN. Is there convincing biological or behavioural evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction. FASEB J 2008; 22(4): 982–1001. doi: 10.1096/fj.07-9326rev

2.
DeLuca GC, Kimball SM, Kolasinski J, Ramagopalant SV, Ebers GC. Review: The role of vitamin D in nervous system health and disease. Neuropath Appl Neuro 2013; 39(5): 458–84. doi: 10.1111/nan.12020

3.
Eyles DW. Vitamin D brain and Behavior. J Bone Miner Res PLUS 2021; 5(1): e10419. doi: 10.1002/jbm4.10419

4.
Anjum I, Jaffery SS, Fayyaz M, Samoo Z, Anjum S. The role of vitamin D in brain health: A mini literature review. Cureus 2018; 10(7): e2960. doi: 10.7759/cureus.2960

5.
Al-Amin M, Bradford DK, Sullivan RKP, Kurniawan ND, Moon Y, Han S-H, et al. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with reduced hippocampal volume and distructural connectivity in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40(2): 394–406. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24380

6.
Schwabe L, Joëls M, Roozendaal B, Wolf OT, Oitzl MS. Stress effects on memory: An update and integration. Neuroscience Biobehav R 2012; 36(7): 1740–1749. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.07.002

7.
Mayne PE, Burne THJ. Vitamin D in synaptic plasticity, cognitive function, and neuropsychiatric illness. Trends Neurosci 2019; 42(4): 293–306. doi: 10.16/j.tins.2019.01.003

8.
Hansen AL, Ambroziak G, Thornton DM, Mundt JC, Kahn RE, Dahl L, et al. Vitamin D supplementation during winter: Effects on stress resilience in a randomized control trial. Nutrients 2020; 12(11): 3258. doi: 10.3390/nu12113258

9.
Thayer JF, Lane RD. A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. J Affect Disord 2000; 61(13): 201–216. doi: 10.1016/S0165-0327(00)00338

10.
Porges S. Autonomic regulation and attention. In: Campbell BA, Hayne H, Richardson R, eds. Attention and information processing in infants and adults. Hillside, New Jersey: Erlbaum; 1992. pp. 201–23.

11.
Forcier K, Stroud LR, Papandonatos GD. Links between physical fitness and cardiovascular reactivity and recovery to psychological stressors: A meta-analysis. Health Psychol 2006; 25(6): 723–739. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.25.6.723

12.
Sullivan JR, Riccio CA, Castillo CL. Concurrent validity of the tower tasks as measures of executive function in adults: A metaanalysis. Appl Neuropsychol 2009; 16(1): 62–75. doi: 10.1080/09084280802644243

13.
Hansen AL, Dahl L, Bakke L, Thayer JF. Vitamin D and executive function: A preliminary report. Percept Mot Skills 2011; 113(2): 677–685. doi: 10.2466/02.09.13.15.16.PMS.113.5.677-685

14.
Shallice T. Specific impairments of planning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 1982; 298(1089): 199–209. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1982.0082

15.
Van den Eynde F, De Saedeleer S, Naudts K, Day J, Vogels C, van Heeringen C, et al. Quetiapine treatment and improved cognitive functioning in borderline personality disorder. Hum Psychopharmacol Clin Exp 2009; 24(8): 646–649. doi: 10.1002/hup.1075

16.
Ritchell RA, Deakin JF, Anderson IM. Effect of acute tryptophan depletion on the response to controllable and uncontrollable noise stress. Biol Psychiatry 2005; 57: 295–300. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.10.010

17.
Münzel T, Gori T, Babisch W, Basner M. Cardiovascular effects of environmental noise exposure. Eur Heart J 2014; 35(13): 829–836. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehu030

18.
Alimohammadi I, Kanrash FK, Abolghasemi J, Shahbazi A, Afrazandeh H, Rahmani K. Combined effect of noise and smoking on the cognitive performance of automotive industry workers. BCN 2019; 10(5): 515–526. doi: 10.32598/bcn.10.5.513

19.
Grung B, Sandvik AM, Hjelle K, Dahl L, Frøyland L, Nygård I, et al. Linking vitamin D status, executive functioning and self-perceived mental health in adolescents through multivariate analysis: A randomized double-blind placebo control trial. Scand J Psychol 2017; 58(2): 123–130. doi: 10.1111/sjop.12353

20.
Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Gordon CM, Hanley DA, Heaney RP, et al. Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: An endocrine society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011; 96(7): 1911–1930. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-0385

21.
Holick MF. Environmental factors that influence the cutaneous production of vitamin D. Am J Clin Nutr 1995; 61 (Suppl. 3): 638S–645S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/61.3.638s

22.
Christensen MH, Lien EA, Hustad S, Almås B. Seasonal and age-related differences in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone in patients from Western Norway. Scand J Clin Lab Investig 2010; 70(4): 281–286. doi: 10.3109/00365511003797172

23.
Hansen AL, Ambroziak G, Thornton DM, Mundt JC, Kahn RE, Dahl L, et al. Vitamin D status and physical activity during wintertime in forensic inpatients – A randomized clinical trial. Nutrients 2021; 13(10): 3510. doi: 10.3390/nu13103510

24.
Armas LAG, Hollis BW, Heaney RP. Vitamin D2 is much less effective than vitamin D3 in humans. J Clin Endocr Metab 2004; 89(11): 5387–5391. doi: 10.1210/jc.2004-0360

25.
Nordic Nutrition Recommendations. Integrating nutrition and physical activity. 2012. Available from: http://norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:704251/FULLTEXT01.pdf (cited 23 October 2020)

26.
De Luca CR, Wood SJ, Anderson V, Buchanan JA, Proffitt TM, Mahony K, et al. Normative data from the CANTAB. I: Development of executive function over the lifespan. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2003; 25(2): 242–254. doi: 10.1076/jcen.25.2.242.13639

27.
Wilcox RR. New designs in analysis of variance. Annu Rev Psychol 1987; 38: 29–60. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ps.38.020187.000333

28.
Rosnow RL, Rosenthal R. Effect sizes. Why, when, and how to use them. J Psychol 2009; 217(1): 6–14. doi: 10.1027/0044-3409.217.1.6

29.
Cohen JA. A power primer. Psychol Bull 1992; 112(1): 155–159. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155

30.
Zook NA, Davalos DB, Edward L, DeLosh EL, Hasker P, Davis HP. Working memory, inhibition, and fluid intelligence as predictors of performance on Tower of Hanoi and London tasks. Brain Cogn 2004; 56(3): 286–292. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2004.07.003

31.
Jurado MB, Rosselli M. The elusive nature of executive functions: A review of our current understanding. Neuropsychol Rev 2007; 17(3): 213–233. doi: 10.1007/s11065-007-9040-z

32.
Stewart M. Quetiapine. 2021. Availabe from https://patient.info/medicine/quetiapine-seroquel (cited 23 June 2022).

33.
Nome S, Holsten F. Changes in mortality after first psychiatric admission: A 20-year prospective longitudinal clinical study. Nord J Psychiatry 2012; 66(2): 97–106. doi: 10.3109/08039488.2011.605170

34.
Tyburski E, Kerestey M, Kerestey P, Radon´ S, Shane T, Mueller ST. Assessment of motor planning and inhibition performance in non-clinical sample – Reliability and factor structure of the tower of London and Go/No Go computerized tasks. Brain Sci 2021; 11(11): 1420. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11111420

35.
Köstering L, Nitschke K, Schumacher FK, Weiller C, Kaller CP. Test-retest reliability of the Tower of London Planning Task (TOL-F). Psychol Assess 2015; 27(3): 925–31. doi: 10.1037/pas0000097

36.
Chabas JF, Stephan D, Marqueste T, Garcia S, Lavaut MN, Nguyen C, et al. Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D) improves myelination and recovery after nerve injury. PLOS One 2013; 8(5): e65034. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065034

37.
Lee DM, Tajar A, Ulubaev A, Pendelton N, O’Neill TW, O’Connor DB, et al. Association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and cognitive performance in middle aged and older European men. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2009; 80(7): 722–729. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2008.165720

38.
Thayer JF, Åhs F, Fredrikson M, Sollers JJ, Wager RD. A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: Implications for heart rate variability as a maker of stress and health. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2012; 36(2): 747–756. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009

39.
Hansen AL, Johnsen BH, Thayer JF. Vagal influence on working memory and attention. Int J Psychophysiol 2003; 48(3): 263–274. doi: 10.1016/S0167-8760(03)00073-4

40.
Thayer JF, Hansen AL, Johnsen BH. The noninvasive assessment of autonomic influences on the heart using impedance cardiography and heart rate variability. In: Steptoe A, ed. Handbook of behavioural medicine – Methods and applications. London, UK: Springer; 2010. p.723–40.

41.
Reul JMHM, Collins A, Saliba R, Mifsud KR, Carter SD, Gutierrez-Mecinas M, et al. Glucorticoids, epigenetic control and stress resilience. Neurobiol Stress 2015; 1: 44–59. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2014.10.001

42.
Sothmann MS, Buckworth J, Claytor RP, Cox RH, White-Welkley JE, Dishman RK. Exercise training and the cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 1996; 24: 267–287.

43.
Baddeley AD, Hitch G. Working memory. In: Bower GH, ed. The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory. New York: Academic Press; 1974. p. 47–89.

44.
Baddeley AD. Working Memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1986.

45.
Banburry SP, Macken WJ, Tremblay S, Jones DM. Auditory distraction and short-term memory: phenomena and practical implications. Hum Factors 2001; 43(1): 12–29. doi: 10.1518/001872001775992462

46.
Banburry SP, Berry DC. Office noise and employee concentration: identifying causes of disruption and potential improvements. Ergonomics 2005; 48(1): 25–37. doi: 10.1080/00140130412331311390

47.
Al-Amin M, Sullivan RKP, Kurniawan ND, Burne, THJ. Adult vitamin D deficiency disrupts hippocampal-dependent learning and structural brain connectivity in BALB/c mice. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:1315–1329. doi: 10.1007/s00429-019-01840-w

48.
Kvavilashvili L, Ellis J. Ecological validity and the real-life/laboratory controversy in memory research: A critical (and historical) review. Hist Philos Psychol 2004; 6(1): 59–80.

49.
Beauchet O, Cooper‑Brown LA, Allali G. Vitamin D supplementation and cognition in adults: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. CNS Drugs 2021; 35: 1249–1264. doi: 10.1007/s40263-021-00876-z

50.
Van Goozen SHM, Fairchild G. Neuroendocrine and neurotransmitter correlates in children with antisocial behavior. Horm Behav 2006; 50(4): 647–654. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.06.021

51.
Amadori M, Stefanon B, Sgorlon S, Farinacci M. 2009. Immune system response to stress factors. Ital J Anim Sci 2009; 8(Suppl. 1): 287–299. doi: 10.4081/ijas.2009.s1.287