Taking vitamin D supplements was linked to lower rates of attempted suicide and intentional self-harm among former military members, new research found.In the study, scientists looked at data about a large group of U.S. veterans and determined that those given supplemental vitamin D were at lower risk for attempting suicide or self-harming than those who weren’t.The work, published in the journal PLoS ONE, adds to a growing body of science suggesting a link between vitamin D deficiency and depression or other forms of mental illness.Then, they compared the veterans within that group who were prescribed vitamin D by the VA to similar, control subjects who hadn’t been offered supplements, to see if there was any difference in the number of suicide attempts or reports of self-harm behavior.Finally, among veterans with reported vitamin D deficiencies (blood serum levels below 20 ng/ml), supplementation was linked with the biggest reduction in suicide risk of any subgroup.Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with lots of health problems, including aches pains, bone and muscle weakness, increased risk of death from heart disease, cognitive impairments, childhood asthma, and certain cancers.