Study: Vitamin B May Reduce Psychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Schizophrenia

In a recent meta-analysis, researchers found preliminary evidence that certain vitamin and mineral supplements might reduce symptoms of schizophrenia.

“When used as an adjunctive with antipsychotics, certain vitamins and minerals may be effective for improving symptomatic outcomes of schizophrenia, by restoring nutritional deficits, reducing oxidative stress, or modulating neurological pathways,” the researchers stated.
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Researchers identified 18 randomized controlled trials that reported on the effects of vitamins and/or mineral supplements on psychiatric symptoms, including a total of 832 patients with schizophrenia. The standardized mean difference between nutrient and placebo treatments were calculated using random-effects meta-analyses.

The pooled effects analysis showed that vitamin B, including B6, B8 and B12, reduced symptoms significantly compared to the control. In the random controlled trials that used intention-to-treat analyses, similar effects were observed in patients taking vitamin B, but no effects of vitamin B were observed in individual domains of positive and negative symptoms.

Meta-regression analyses also showed that shorter illness duration was associated with greater effectiveness of vitamin B on reducing symptom severity in patients.

However, researchers did not find any overall effects from antioxidant vitamins, inositol, or dietary minerals on symptoms.

“There is preliminary evidence that certain vitamin and mineral supplements may reduce psychiatric symptoms in some people with schizophrenia” the researchers concluded, “further research is needed to examine how the benefits of supplementation relate to nutrient deficits and the impact upon underlying neurobiological pathways, in order to establish optimal nutrient formulations for improving clinical outcomes in this population.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Firth J, Stubbs B, Sarris J,et al. The effects of vitamin and mineral supplementation on symptoms of schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis [published online February 16, 2017]. Psychol Med. doi:10.1017/S0033291717000022.