The Association between Vitamin D and Health-Related Quality of Life in Korean Adults

Background: We examined the relationship between vitamin D status and health-related quality of life, and explored other related factors in the general Korean population. Methods: We used data from the 2007-2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on 14,104 adults, aged 20-49 years, who had consented to serum vitamin D measurement and answered health-related quality of life questions. EuroQol-5 was used for measurement. Serum vitamin D levels were measured at intervals of 0-9.99, 10-19.99, 20-29.99, and >= 30 ng/mL. Results: Participants with higher serum vitamin D (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D) levels were significantly less likely to report problems with depression and anxiety. After adjustment for age, gender, income level, education level, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking status, and the existence of depressive disorders, the odds ratio for reporting a problem with depression and anxiety was 0.60 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.91). The odds ratio for the prevalence of any problem was 0.69 (95% CI, 0.53-0.89) before adjustment, but was not statistically significant after adjustment. No significant associations were observed for problems with mobility, self-care, usual activity, or pain and discomfort. Conclusion: This is the first study to examine the associations between vitamin D and health-related quality of life for the general Korean population. Vitamin D status was not significantly associated with the dimensions of Euro-Qol-5 except for depression and anxiety problems.