Lifetime exposure to ultraviolet radiation and the risk of multiple sclerosis in the US radiologic technologists cohort study.
Mult Scler. 2018 Jun 1:1352458518783343. doi: 10.1177/1352458518783343. [Epub ahead of print]
Gallagher LG1, Ilango S2, Wundes A3, Stobbe GA3, Turk KW3, Franklin GM4, Linet MS5, Freedman DM5, Alexander BH6, Checkoway H7.
Those (of 40,000) who got MS were 2X more likely to have lived in a region with low wintertime UV
- Embrace the Sun – benefits of the sun throughout the day and year – book June 2018
- Overview MS and vitamin D
- Vitamin D has treated Multiple Sclerosis and autoimmune diseases for 16 years – Coimbra April 2018
- 17 percent more heart attacks in the winter (perhaps due to low vitamin D) – July 2018
- More health problems in the winter - when far from the equator
Items in both categories MS and Far From Equator are listed here:
- Multiple Sclerosis incidence is still associated with latitude – Nov 2019
- Multiple Sclerosis incidence varies with latitude (noted in Brazil too) – Nov 2015
- Multiple Sclerosis rates are highest in Canada (far from equator) – May 2018
- Multiple Sclerosis 2X more likely if low winter UV – June 2018
- Why has the MS latitude gradient disappeared – Oct 2011
- MS is related to latitude – conclusion from 321 studies – April 2011
- MS onset 2 years earlier in northern latitudes – June 2010
Items in both categories MS and UV are listed here:
- Sun reduces risk of Multiple Sclerosis via both Vitamin D and another way – Dec 2019
- UV helped EAE mice (MS) designed to not respond to Vitamin D – Oct 2019
- Multiple Sclerosis 2X more likely if low winter UV – June 2018
- Multiple Sclerosis half as likely if get plenty of sunshine (not a news item) – March 2018
- Clinically Isolated Syndrome progresses to Multiple Sclerosis, unless UVB treatments – RCT Dec 2017
- Vitamin D and Sun conference – Germany June 2017
- Multiple Sclerosis suppressed by an Ultraviolet wavelength not associated with Vitamin D (mice) – Nov 2016
- Multiple Sclerosis helped by UV – possibly via cytokines, etc. – Oct 2015
- Hypothesis – Multiple Sclerosis risk increases with low UV, viral infections, and antibiotics in childhood – March 2015
- How UVB reduces autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis – April 2014
- UV decreases Multiple Sclerosis via cis-urocanic acid (and via vitamin D) – June 2013
- MS prevention by UV is 2X better than prevention by vitamin D levels – Jan 2012
- There is more in UV than vitamin D which suppresses MS in mice – April 2010
- UV produces more than vitamin D – Aug 2011
- Lack of UV 20X more associated with MS than any other variable – Dec 2010
- Hypothesis - more in sunshine than vitamin D to reduce MS – Feb 2010
- MS UV and Vitamin D – 2009
- Lack of UV increased offspring MS - April 2010
- Mouse MS: UVB but not Vitamin D reduced incidence - April 2010
Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life
BACKGROUND: Low exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from sunlight may be a risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Possible pathways may be related to effects on immune system function or vitamin D insufficiency, as UVR plays a role in the production of the active form of vitamin D in the body.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether lower levels of residential UVR exposure from sunlight were associated with increased MS risk in a cohort of radiologic technologists.
METHODS: Participants in the third and fourth surveys of the US Radiologic Technologists (USRT) Cohort Study eligible ( N = 39,801) for analysis provided complete residential histories and reported MS diagnoses. MS-specialized neurologists conducted medical record reviews and confirmed 148 cases. Residential locations throughout life were matched to satellite data from NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) project to estimate UVR dose.
RESULTS: Findings indicate that MS risk increased as average lifetime levels of UVR exposures in winter decreased. The effects were consistent across age groups <40 years. There was little indication that low exposures during summer or at older ages were related to MS risk.
CONCLUSION: Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that UVR exposure reduces MS risk and may ultimately suggest prevention strategies.
It appears that latitude has been considered a proxy for winter UVB for a long time
Comparisons of estimated economic burdens due to insufficient solar ultraviolet irradiance and vitamin D and excess solar UV irradiance for the United States.
Photochem Photobiol. 2005 Nov-Dec;81(6):1276-86. DOI: 10.1562/2005-01-24-RA-424
PDF is available free at Sci-Hub
Grant WB1, Garland CF, Holick MF.
- " Latitude is assumed to be an index of wintertime vitamin D status as determined by serum 25(OH)D levels"
- " In fact, for children living in Tasmania, Australia (41"-43" S), wintertime exposure to solar UVB radiation was a more important factor than summertime exposure for reducing the adult risk of MS (84)."