A meta‐analysis: Does vitamin D play a promising role in sleep disorders?

BACKGROUND: Sleep disorders, one of the most common problems in the general population, have been related to a series of harmful health consequences. Vitamin D appears to be associated with sleep disorders. However, the difference in vitamin D levels between sleep disorder subjects and people without a sleep disorder is unclear. Simultaneously, the influence of vitamin D replenishment on sleep disorders remains controversial. METHODS: PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for literatures published until October 2019. Using a random effects model, a meta‐analysis was conducted to calculate the standard mean difference to evaluate the difference in vitamin D concentrations between sleep disorder subjects and normal people and the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation on sleep disorders. RESULTS: Our study found that the serum vitamin D levels in the sleep disorder subjects were lower than that in the normal people (SMD = −0.75 ng/ml, 95% CI = −0.93, −0.57 ng/ml). Moreover, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)in the subjects with vitamin D supplementation was lower than that in the controls (SMD = −0.45, 95% CI = −0.76, −0.13). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D could play a promising role in sleep disorders. More data are required to confirm the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation for improving sleep disorders.