Sunlight linked with lower COVID-19 deaths, study shows 陽光與較低的COVID-19死亡人數有關

News Release 8-Apr-2021

Editor’s note: Almost all of those who died from covid 19 were deficient of vitamin D. Some experts claimed that if a person has sufficient vitamin D in his blood, he cannot die because vitamin D will suppress the Cytokine storm which kills covid 19 patients. Sunshine brings you vitamin D which is why people exposed to sunshine often are less likely to die.

A new study published in 2020 in the Aging Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that maintaining a sufficient serum concentration of vitamin D can help not only prevent covid 19 infection, but also reduce your risk of dying from the infection drastically even if you are infected.

Read also this report by jkzx.com

編者註：幾乎所有死於covid 19的人都缺乏維生素D。一些專家聲稱，如果一個人的血液中有足夠的維生素D，他就不會死亡，因為維生素D會抑制細胞因子風暴，從而殺死covid 19的患者。 陽光帶給您維生素D，這就是為什麼人們經常暴露在陽光下更容易死亡。 2020年發表在《衰老臨床和實驗研究》上的一項新研究表明，維持足夠的血清維生素D濃度不僅可以幫助預防covid 19感染，而且即使您被感染，也可以大大降低您死於感染的風險。 另請閱讀jkzx.com的這份報告

University of Edinburgh

Research News

Sunnier areas are associated with fewer deaths from Covid-19, an observational study suggests.

Increased exposure to the sun’s rays – specifically UVA – could act as a simple public health intervention if further research establishes it causes a reduction in mortality rates, experts say.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh compared all recorded deaths from Covid-19 in the continental US from January to April 2020 with UV levels for 2,474 US counties for the same time period.

The study found that people living in areas with the highest level of exposure to UVA rays – which makes up 95 per cent of the sun’s UV light – had a lower risk of dying from Covid-19 compared with those with lower levels. The analysis was repeated in England and Italy with the same results.

The researchers took into account factors known to be associated with increased exposure to the virus and risk of death such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, population density, air pollution, temperature and levels of infection in local areas.

The observed reduction in risk of death from Covid-19 could not be explained by higher levels of vitamin D, the experts said. Only areas, with insufficient levels of UVB to produce significant vitamin D in the body, were included in the study.

One explanation for the lower number of deaths, which the researchers are following up, is that sunlight exposure causes the skin to release nitric oxide. This may reduce the ability of SARS Coronavirus2 – the cause of Covid-19 – to replicate, as has been found in some lab studies.

Previous research from the same group has shown that increased sunlight exposure is linked to improved cardiovascular health, with lower blood pressure and fewer heart attacks. As heart disease is a known risk factor in dying from Covid-19, this could also explain the latest findings.

The team say due to the observational nature of the study it is not possible to establish cause and effect. However, it may lead to interventions that could be tested as potential treatments.

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The paper has been published in the British Journal of Dermatology, an official publication of the British Association of Dermatologists: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjd.20093

Dr Richard Weller, corresponding author, consultant dermatologist and Reader at the University of Edinburgh, said: “There is still so much we don’t understand about Covid-19, which has resulted in so many deaths worldwide. These early results open up sunlight exposure as one way of potentially reducing the risk of death.”

Professor Chris Dibben, Chair in Health Geography at the University of Edinburgh and Co-author said: “The relationship between Covid-19 mortality, season and latitude has been quite striking, here we offer an alternative explanation for this phenomenon.”