In 1981, R. Edgar Hope-Simpson proposed that a 'seasonal stimulus' intimately associated with solar radiation explained the remarkable seasonality of epidemic influenza. Solar radiation triggers robust seasonal vitamin D production in the skin; vitamin D deficiency is common in the winter, and activated vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D, a steroid hormone, has profound effects on human immunity. 1,25(OH)2D...

A. Nature of the research problem Adequate vitamin D is essential for normal human growth and development; insufficient vitamin D compromises long term health, and increases the risk of chronic disease. In recent years, reports in the medical literature have indicated that vitamin D deficiency in the US is widespread and rising. In humans, vitamin D is derived primarily through the effect of so...

background: in general, measurements of solar ultraviolet (uv) radiation are related to horizontal surfaces. while the hu­mans walking and standing outdoors expose to the natural solar uv radiation, their eyes, cheeks, extremities, trunks, or many other anatomical sites are close to vertical plane and random orient to different directions. in this study, we character­ized the diurnal variations...

BACKGROUND Exposure to solar ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation is a major source of vitamin D3. Chemistry climate models project decreases in ground-level solar erythemal UV over the current century. It is unclear what impact this will have on vitamin D status at the population level. The purpose of this study was to measure the association between ground-level solar UV-B and serum concentrations ...

Deficiency of sunshine vitamin ‘Vitamin D’ and diabetes mellitus are two common conditions encountered during clinical practice and they are widely prevalent across all ages, races, geographical regions and socioeconomic conditions [1]. More than one billion people worldwide are likely to have vitamin D deficiency due to a lack of sunshine exposure. Vitamin D (Calciferol) which comprises a grou...

Solar radiation induces acute and chronic reactions in human and animal skin. Chronic repeated exposures are the primary cause of benign and malignant skin tumors, including malignant melanoma. Among types of solar radiation, ultraviolet B (290-320 nm) radiation is highly mutagenic and carcinogenic in animal experiments compared to ultraviolet A (320-400 nm) radiation. Epidemiological studies s...

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...

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...

All vertebrates, including humans, obtain most of their daily vitamin D requirement from casual exposure to sunlight. During exposure to sunlight, the solar ultraviolet B photons (290-315 nm) penetrate into the skin where they cause the photolysis of 7-dehydrocholesterol to precholecalciferol. Once formed, precholecalciferol undergoes a thermally induced rearrangement of its double bonds to for...

A whole host of epidemiological studies have reported lower cancer rates and mortality in high-altitude regions. These studies are reviewed and discussed in detail. Evidence for the salutary role of vitamin D in protecting against cancer and other maladies will also be reviewed and discussed. The dependence of vitamin D production on sunlight and its enhancement with altitude will be demonstrat...