Geographic observation of the increased mortality of some cancers at higher latitudes has led to a hypothesis that vitamin D produced after exposure to solar radiation has anti-carcinogenic effects. However, it is unclear whether such association would be observed in countries like Japan, where fish consumption, and therefore dietary vitamin D intake, is high. Pearson correlation coefficients w...

Ultraviolet radiation is a carcinogen that also compromises skin appearance and function. Because the ultraviolet action spectra for DNA damage, skin cancer, and vitamin D(3) photosynthesis are identical and vitamin D is readily available from oral supplements, why has sun protection become controversial? First, the media and, apparently, some researchers are hungry for a new message. Second, t...

BACKGROUND Vitamin D is made in the skin on exposure to solar radiation, and it is necessary to optimal skeletal health. Subjects who use a tanning bed that emits ultraviolet B radiation (290-315 nm) are likely to have higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations than do subjects who do not regularly use a tanning bed. OBJECTIVE The first objective of this study was to ascertain whethe...

Humans obtain vitamin D from conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation or from dietary sources. As the radiation level is insufficient in winter, vitamin D deficiency is common at higher latitudes. We assessed whether vernal solar UVB radiation at latitudes 61°N and 67°N in Finland has an impact on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [S-25(OH)D] concentrations. Twent...

There is no doubt that solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure is the most important environmental risk factor for the development of non-melanoma skin cancer. Therefore, sun protection is of particular importance to prevent these malignancies, especially in risk groups. However, 90% of all requisite vitamin D has to be formed in the skin through the action of the sun-a serious problem, for a connectio...

Cutaneous malignant melanoma, whose incidence is increasing steadily worldwide, is the result of complex interactions between individual genetic factors and environmental risk factors. Ultraviolet radiation represents the most important environmental risk factor for the development of skin cancers, including melanoma. Sun exposure and early sunburn during childhood are the principal causes of c...

Multiple sclerosis and vitamin D: don't (yet) blame it on the sunshine It is all but 50 years since Sir Donald Acheson proposed a relationship between solar radiation and multiple sclerosis (Acheson et al., 1960). The subsequent discovery of the link between sunlight and vitamin D raised the potential for dietary supplementation to prevent or ameliorate the most common chronic neurologic diseas...

The major source of vitamin D in humans is ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation in sunshine. It has been estimated that vitamin D production in skin provides between 80-100% of the body’s vitamin D requirements [2], and that food sources play a lesser role. Vitamin D is produced when UVB radiation reaches 7-dehydrocholestol in the skin, and there are a number of personal and environmental factors that...

Using a variety of approaches, researchers have studied the health effects of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure and vitamin D. This review compares the contributions from geographical ecological studies with those of observational studies and clinical trials. Health outcomes discussed were based on the author's knowledge and include anaphylaxis/food allergy, atopic dermatitis and eczema...

BACKGROUND Persons with limited exposure to ultraviolet B light, including space travelers, may not receive enough vitamin D. Recent studies indicate that optimal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] should be > or = 80 nmol/L. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 doses of vitamin D to raise and maintain 25(OH)D to a concentration >80 nmol/L in persons with limi...