Role of Iron Supplementation in Reducing Severity of Depression: A Review

Epression is a public health disorder, ranking third after respiratory and cardiac diseases. There were many evidences that iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is one of the foremost causes regarding nutritional point of view for depression. We reviewed these evidences that IDAlinking to depression.We identified seventeen studies in four databases including randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies assessing the impact of IDAand iron supplementation on the risk of depression. We extracteddataonthebasisofsamplesize, geographicalregion,measuresofdepression, hemoglobin,ironlevelsandintakeofiron supplementation and critically appraised the results from the studies.Eleven out of sixty one studies were experimental, whichindicatedthatdietarysupplementation particularly iron supplementation had an association (r − 0.19 to −0.43 and ORs 1.70–4.64) with severity of depression. Evidences showed that women of reproductiveageweremorevulnerabletoiron deficiency anemia than other population. Low ferritin andlowhemoglobinlevelwereassociatedwith severity of depression. Iron is an essential nutrient for all living creatures, as a cofactor of various enzymes and plays significant role in environmental stimulant for the articulation of numerous virulence factors. Many clinical problems are caused by iron deficiency. Therefore, this review intendedtohighlighttheimportantroleofiron supplementationinreducingtheseverityof depression.