There is considerable disagreement in the literature about the role of some of these factors, possibly because some studies have been done by researchers with little understanding of photobiology. The most obvious of which is sunburn (erythema), but UVB is also the main cause of DNA damage to the skin that is a prerequisite for most skin cancers. TP assisted with the editing and specifically researched the literature on the effects of UVR dose and body surface area on vitamin D responses. Thus, equivalent increases in vitamin D3 concentration can be achieved with high irradiances of UVB over short periods and lower irradiances over long periods. However, sun holidays result in short periods of intense UVR exposure, which has been shown to associate with skin cancer at all latitudes. (11, 45) Vitamin D production is dependent on dose but not dose rate, which in theory means that longer periods of lower irradiance sun exposure are as effective as and safer than short periods of high‐intensity exposure. Modeling estimated that daily oral intake of 3 μg plus 2 hours local sun exposure on weekdays and 3 hours on weekend days on unprotected skin with a maximum of 20% BSA exposed would increase the summer peak to >100 nmol/L and February nadir from approximately 38 to 58 nmol/L. This seems modest but may be enough to explain the epidemiological data. Working off-campus? Action spectrosccopy determines the wavelength dependence of a given photobiological outcome. (66, 67) Depletion of the O3 layer by ozone‐depleting substances (ODSs) from 1980 to 2000 resulted in greater potential exposure to UVB with possible consequent health effects, though changes were small outside the polar regions. Vitamin D status can be maintained above 50 nmol/L throughout the UK winter if sufficient stores are generated during the warm months but the majority of the population fails to do so. Thus, a given level of vitamin D synthesis/SED for an artificial UVR source cannot be directly used to predict a response from solar UVR. (32) Newborns and the elderly living in institutions are at greatest risk of deficiency.(25). However, the most important factor is the quantity and quality of UVR reaching the skin. A systematic review concluded that studies reporting an inhibitory effect of melanin were more convincing than those that observed no influence but that insufficient evidence was available on the efficacy of vitamin D production in different skin types. Thus, the CIE erythema action spectrum is widely used to assess risk from solar UVR exposure. An irradiance spectrum is a plot of UVR intensity received per unit of area (measured as W/m2/nm) versus wavelength. E‐mail: antony.young@kcl.ac.uk. White-pigmented grower pigs (29.7 ± 2.3 kg) fed 15% CP diet ad libitum providing >1,200 IU vitamin D3/kg of feed were exposed to sunlight for 1 h each day at solar noon for 14 d at the spring equinox (March pigs, n = 10) or summer solstice (June pigs, n = 5) and again before slaughter in June (March pigs) and September (June pigs). (57) It should be noted that this study assumed linearity with BSA exposed. Personal, cultural, and behavioral factors are also important. One approach is climatic modeling using the previtamin D3 action spectrum. 11 These factors greatly affect vitamin D production, which is greatest around two hours either side of solar noon, and during summer months. This waveband is also the most important for the adverse effects of solar exposure. (161) Another study with three consecutive suberythemal broadband UVB exposures showed different results with serum 25(OH)D3 and vitamin D3. The effect of altitude on vitamin D photosynthesis has not been extensively investigated. Around noon in January it takes more than two hours of solar exposure to obtain the recommended daily dose of vitamin D, whereas the rest of the year range between 7 minutes on July and 31 minutes on October. A safe dose is 4000 IU per day. While we commonly hear about the effects of UV radiation, there are in fact two main types of UV rays. Increases of approximately 11 nmol/L 25(OH)D were observed in groups that either had full‐body or head plus arms exposures. Seasonal variation in 25(OH)D at Aberdeen (57 degrees N) and bone health indicators—could holidays in the sun and cod liver oil supplements alleviate deficiency? Therefore, the irradiance spectrum should be measured with an instrument (spectroradiometer) that can accurately handle six orders of magnitude. If you do not receive an email within 10 minutes, your email address may not be registered, (161, 176-179) Some laboratory studies have used inappropriate nonsolar UVB sources and their conclusions can be considered invalid. Figure 1 shows the CIE action spectrum for the conversion of 7‐DHC to previtamin D3,(9) which is widely used in risk–benefit analyses for solar UVR exposure. * Note; exposing more skin may indeed be beneficial as it means you need less time in the sun and thus reduce the likelihood of burning. (Follow the shadow rule). To your good health!. 2A, these typically emit nonsolar UVB (wavelengths <295 nm) that are very effective at previtamin D3 production (Fig. (The Norway research and other recent research suggests that afternoon sun exposure is actually quite different to morning exposures of the same UV level, so may not be ideal). The modification of an irradiance spectrum with an action spectrum is termed “spectral weighting.” The importance of spectral weighting can be found in a study that showed that the 0.8% UVB (ie, 99.2% UVA) content of a sunbed UVR source caused 75% of DNA damage in human keratinocytes in vitro.(34). This is basically the only time you can manufacture reasonable amounts ofvitamin D. This may occur as early as 8am in Cairns in summer, but will only occur closer to midday in places like Hobart, particularly when just coming into and at the end of summer. Global vitamin D levels in relation to age, gender, skin pigmentation and latitude: an ecologic meta‐regression analysis, Adequate vitamin D levels in a Swedish population living above latitude 63 degrees N: the 2009 Northern Sweden MONICA study, Serum vitamin D depends less on latitude than on skin color and dietary intake during early winter in Northern Europe, Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in an adult normal population. CYP2R1 is the gene that codes for the enzyme that converts vitamin D to 25(OH)D. Exposure of FST I/II skin to 6 SED SSR reduced cutaneous CYP2R1 mRNA expression (at 6 and 24 hours postexposure), which also suggests a local feedback mechanism.(168). (91) However, a crude analysis showed a latitude effect for Whites but not for non‐Whites. At what time should one go out in the sun. How to get the most vitamin D from the sun: Tips and other sources It is expressed as a number on a scale of 0-11. (141) Unlike other studies, this study found better vitamin D status with a higher FST. Sunshine, UVB and Vitamin D. Summer sun at noon contains ultraviolet A (95%) and ultraviolet B (5%). There is also increasing evidence that such exposure offers health benefits independently of vitamin D: the most important of which is blood‐pressure reduction. Jun 16, 2015. The role of sunlight exposure in determining the vitamin D status of the U.K. white adult population, Sun exposure over a lifetime in Australian adults from latitudinally diverse regions, Vitamin D status among adults in Germany—results from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1), Associations between serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D and bone turnover markers in a population based sample of German children, Vitamin D status in North Greenland is influenced by diet and season: indicators of dermal 25‐hydroxy vitamin D production north of the Arctic Circle, Sun exposure behavior, seasonal vitamin D deficiency, and relationship to bone health in adolescents, Vitamin D deficiency and seasonal variation over the years in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Vitamin D (25OHD) serum seasonality in the United States, Seasonal variation in vitamin D levels in the Canterbury, New Zealand population in relation to available UV radiation, Increased vitamin D supplementation recommended during summer season in the gulf region: a counterintuitive seasonal effect in vitamin D levels in adult, overweight and obese Middle Eastern residents, Light side and best time of sunshine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Darkness at noon: sunscreens and vitamin D3, The impact of skin colour on human photobiological responses, Melanin distribution in human epidermis affords localized protection against DNA photodamage and concurs with skin cancer incidence difference in extreme phototypes, Colloquium paper: human skin pigmentation as an adaptation to UV radiation, Seasonal changes in plasma 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentrations of young American Black and White women, Serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D and bone mineral density in a racially and ethnically diverse group of men, Vitamin D, obesity, and obesity‐related chronic disease among ethnic minorities: a systematic review, The vitamin D paradox in Black Americans: a systems‐based approach to investigating clinical practice, research, and public health–expert panel meeting report, The vitamin D status of the US population from 1988 to 2010 using standardized serum concentrations of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D shows recent modest increases, Demographic differences and trends of vitamin D insufficiency in the US population, 1988‐2004, Impact of solar ultraviolet B radiation (290‐320 nm) on vitamin D synthesis in children with type IV and V skin, Vitamin D status indicators in indigenous populations in East Africa, Traditionally living populations in East Africa have a mean serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D concentration of 115 nmol/l, Higher vitamin D levels in Nigerian albinos compared with pigmented controls, Skin color change in Caucasian postmenopausal women predicts summer‐winter change in 25‐hydroxyvitamin D: findings from the ANSAViD cohort study, Increased skin pigment reduces the capacity of skin to synthesise vitamin D3, Racial pigmentation and the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D, Factors that influence the cutaneous synthesis and dietary sources of vitamin D, Ultraviolet‐B radiation increases serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D levels: the effect of UVB dose and skin color, Recommended summer sunlight exposure amounts fail to produce sufficient vitamin D status in UK adults of South Asian origin, Skin color is relevant to vitamin D synthesis, Factors in human vitamin D nutrition and in the production and cure of classical rickets, Indian and Pakistani immigrants have the same capacity as Caucasians to produce vitamin D in response to ultraviolet irradiation, Serial ultraviolet B exposure and serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D response in young adult American Blacks and Whites: no racial differences, Skin types and epidermal photosynthesis of vitamin D3, Vitamin D production in UK Caucasian and South Asian women following UVR exposure, A systematic review of the influence of skin pigmentation on changes in the concentrations of vitamin D and 25‐hydroxyvitamin D in plasma/serum following experimental UV irradiation, Relationship between vitamin D status and skin phototype in general adult population, Melanin has a small inhibitory effect on cutaneous vitamin D synthesis: a comparison of extreme phenotypes, Photosynthesis of previtamin D3 in human skin and the physiologic consequences, A computational model for previtamin D(3) production in skin, Fractional sunburn threshold UVR doses generate equivalent vitamin D and DNA damage in skin types I‐VI but with epidermal DNA damage gradient correlated to skin darkness, The high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency across Australian populations is only partly explained by season and latitude, Lifestyle factors including less cutaneous sun exposure contribute to starkly lower vitamin D levels in U.K. South Asians compared with the white population, Evaluation of sun holiday, diet habits, origin and other factors as determinants of vitamin D status in Swedish primary health care patients: a cross‐sectional study with regression analysis of ethnic Swedish and immigrant women, Vitamin D status: sunshine is nice but other factors prevail, Farming, foreign holidays, and vitamin D in Orkney, Development of an algorithm to predict serum vitamin D levels using a simple questionnaire based on sunlight exposure, Determinants of personal ultraviolet‐radiation exposure doses on a sun holiday, Children sustain high levels of skin DNA photodamage, with a modest increase of serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D3, after a summer holiday in Northern Europe, Influence of air temperature on the UV exposure of different body sites due to clothing of young women during daily errands, The effect of clothing on vitamin D status, bone turnover markers, and bone mineral density in young Kuwaiti females, Vitamin D and musculoskeletal status in Nova Scotian women who wear concealing clothing, Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and vitamin D metabolites, Knowledge and attitudes about vitamin D, and behaviors related to vitamin D in adults with and without coronary heart disease in Saudi Arabia, Use of topical sunscreen for the evaluation of regional synthesis of vitamin D3, Narrowband ultraviolet B course improves vitamin D balance in women in winter, Vitamin D production after UVB exposure ‐ a comparison of exposed skin regions, Interdependence between body surface area and ultraviolet B dose in vitamin D production: a randomized controlled trial, Effect of body site and surface on vitamin D and 25‐hydroxyvitamin D production after a single narrowband UVB‐exposure, Size of the exposed body surface area, skin erythema and body mass index predict skin production of vitamin D, Determinants of vitamin D status of healthy office workers in Sydney, Australia, Dose and time effects of solar‐simulated ultraviolet radiation on the in vivo human skin transcriptome, Characterization of the translocation process of vitamin D3 from the skin into the circulation, Ultraviolet radiation and the skin: photobiology and sunscreen photoprotection, Application of sunscreen—theory and reality, Sunscreen use and failures—on site observations on a sun‐holiday, Application patterns among participants randomized to daily sunscreen use in a skin cancer prevention trial, High‐SPF sunscreens (SPF >/= 70) may provide ultraviolet protection above minimal recommended levels by adequately compensating for lower sunscreen user application amounts, Chronic sunscreen use decreases circulating concentrations of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D. A preliminary study, Sunscreens suppress cutaneous vitamin D3 synthesis, Photoprotective behaviour and sunscreen use: impact on vitamin D levels in cutaneous lupus erythematosus, Serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D in erythropoietic protoporphyria, Sun protective behaviors and vitamin D levels in the US population: NHANES 2003‐2006. (71, 72) Fresh snow in unpolluted areas can have a UVR albedo of approximately 98%. Sunscreen efficacy is measured by sun‐protection factor (SPF). (33) A significantly steeper vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) response was produced in the upper body and full body compared to the hands plus face(166) (data from acute erythemal and repeated sun‐erythemal broadband UVB exposures combined). Snow and ice—and to a lesser extent sand—have high UVB surface albedos. I.e. Note: all studies are from the same group apart from the last row. (83, 84) Nine climbers on a 2‐week mountaineering expedition at 3200 to 4000 m showed a significant decrease in vitamin D status presumably because of their heavy clothing. The UV index is a measure of the intensity of ultraviolet radiation B (UVB) from the sun. Thus, it is approximately 250 J/m2 with monochromatic UVB at 300 nm, whereas it is approximately 320,000 J/m2 with UVA at 360 nm.(17). A study from the American Academy of Dermatology shows that consuming 1,000 IU of vitamin E and 2,000 mg of vitamin C a day for at least 10 days can reduce the chance of sunburn significantly. Figure 5 suggests a linear relationship between increase in 25(OH)D3 and the log10 product of SED and BSA exposed when BSA is between 6% to 25%. In summary, the main direction of expert opinion suggests that early morning or late afternoon sun exposures alone, when UVB radiation is low, is not healthy and may cause more harm than good. However, there is a lack of data from Africa and South America, and for infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women worldwide. (57) Evidence suggests that the shape of the dose‐response curve depends on the individual's initial vitamin D status, with lower starting concentrations resulting in the greatest dose response. In any case, public health advice must optimize risk versus benefit for solar exposure. (30) A large sample of UK South Asians (aged 40–69 years) showed 92% with serum 25(OH)D <50 nmol/L, 55% <25 nmol/L, and 20% <15 nmol/L. Learn more. When released to the atmosphere, those chemicals damage the stratospheric ozone layer, Earth's protective shield that protects humans and the environment from harmful levels of UVR from the sun. Light skin, this measure is independent of Personal sensitivity to UVR melanin inhibition factor melanin... One transmitted more UVB and vitamin D. summer sun at noon contains ultraviolet a ( 95 % ) specifically... 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