Overview UV and vitamin D

Consensus

• UV radiation at the ground consists mainly of UVA, some UVB, and a tiny amount of UVC

• Sun, sunbeds/tanning beds/some sun bulbs contain both UVA and UVB radiation

• UVA (315 -400 nm) radiation induces pigment tanning within seconds of UVA and light exposure

  • UVA tanning fades within 2 hours and does not increase melanin in skin

• UVB (280-315 nm) radiation

  • induces vitamin D synthesis

  • delayed tanning (increases melanin in skin after several days)

  • is mainly responsible for sunburn (erythema), photoaging, photoimmunosuppression

• Windows (glass) block UVB radiation

• Modern sunscreens block UVB and UVA, but some of them block UVA poorly or are photo-unstable in this region

• There has been an increase in melanoma incidence in recent years

  • Cancer Research on Skin Mortality

  • IARC reference

• Tanning beds produce higher levels of UVA radiation than the sun - even at the equator

• UVB radiation, but not UVA radiation, induces melanoma in genetically modified animals

  • The newest epidemiological evidence suggest that UVA as well as UVB is associated with human melanoma

• Epidemiological studies published over the last years demonstrated the association between sunbed use and melanoma.

• Many countries restrict the amount of UVB (vitamin D) from tanning beds (due to mouse study)

• UVB decreases faster than UVA when far from equator or winter season

Confusion/Disagreement

Sunburn (Erythema), cataracts, and development of skin cancer are related mostly to UVB radiation.

Ban all people under age 18 from using tanning beds

Spectrum

• Visible: 450 (deep violet) to 700 (deep red)

• UVA: a small amount gets thru the atmosphere (tan)

• UVB: a tiny amount gets thru the atmosphere (Vitamin D)

• UVC: none gets thru the atmosphere

UVB and UVA are very different

{FANCYTABLE(head=" | UVB| UVA" sortable="n")}

Wavelength| 280-315| 315-400?

Tan|Nope|Tan

Vitamin D|Vitamin D| nope

Sun Screen| blocked by sunscreen| varies

Tanning salon| varies widely
with tubes used| 5X more intense
than sun

Thru glass
eye and window| blocked by glass| UVA passed by some glass
may destroy some vitamin D

Birds can see| nope| Many birds can see UVA

Reptile can see| Yes reptile| Yes reptile

Wrinkle| Yes| ??

Bleach furniture|??|Yes

Skin Cancer| controversy| controversy||

{FANCYTABLE}

UV: Different Spectra: UVB = Vitamin D, UVA = Pigmentations

From Tanning Guru

Hypothesis: UVA decreases vitamin D: many hints

Tanning

• Sun increases longevity but tanning bed decreases it- April 2011.pdf file

• All items Noontime Sun and Tanning and Vitamin D items

• Perhaps UV is Addicting

• Vitamin D bulb for use in the home - or perhaps office

• Vitamin D from UVB lamps

25+ Vitamin D Life pages with TANNING in the title

This list is automatically updated

{LIST()}

Measure UV

• UV Calculators

• UV Meters

• UV Card

UV thru glass

• Vitamin D from the sun can get thru a special kind of window Plexiglass G - UVT

• Wear glasses when getting vitamin D from the sun – June 2011

• UVA through window glass decreases vitamin D

No UVB (Vitamin D) gets thru, but most UVA (Tan) gets thru

Sunscreens

• Most sunscreens actually increase the growth of skin cancer - May 2010

Increased sunscreen ==> increased melanoma

• UV spectra of the sun and sunscreens which has the following graph

Red = sunlight; other lines = amount of light filtered thru sunscreens

UV Other

• All items in category UV and vitamin D items

• UV produces more than vitamin D – Aug 2011

• UV - not too little and not too much

• Environmental factors that influence the cutaneous production of vitamin D – Holick 1995

• Vitamin D from the sun without the heat (silver-coated plexiglass)

• UVA decreased vitamin D levels (again) – July 2013

• Overview Skin and vitamin D

• Dermatologists view of UV radiation and the Skin – June 2013

• UV improves immune system without increasing vitamin D levels in male mice – Sept 2012

• Ways to increase the amount of vitamin D you get from UV or the sun: suntan oil, reflectors

• Do UVA and UVB affect the body in different ways Yes: UVA tan, UVB ==> Vitamin D

• Lots of UVB or exposed skin did not increase vitamin D generated – Nov 2010

• Opinion: sun better than UV better than vitamin D

• Study of vitamin D3 from various UV lamps - Aug 2010 PDF

• Minutes in the Sun for 1000 IU

• Tanning beds help health – Oct 2011

• Psoriasis treatment by narrowband UV B – review Nov 2010

  • Local benefit. Perhaps topical vitamin D also helps locally

• Pollution and Vitamin D

• Perhaps more benefits from UV than just vitamin D - 2006

• Hypothesis - more in sunshine than vitamin D to reduce MS – Feb 2010

• Overview Suntans and melanoma

• Getting sunshine improves your health provided you do not sunburn - Grant Dec 2012

• UVA decreased serum levels of vitamin D - RCT Oct 2012

• Overview Skin and vitamin D which has the following chart - UV while STANDING

• Elderly Skin generates less Vitamin D

See also web

• CLICK HERE for free UVB Calculators on the web

• Historical record of UVB in the US from Colorado State University

• UV index for the day in the US

• Vitamin D from sun barely increased when lower half of body was also exposed – Jan 2015

• 207-nm UV Light - A Promising Tool for Safe Low-Cost Reduction of Surgical Site Infections. I: In Vitro Studies

  • PLOS ONE Oct 2013. very narrow band UVC - 207nm kills MRSA without damaging skin PDF is attached at the bottom of this page
• Much more variation in UVB than UVA with season Brazil 2009

Associations with the category Ultraviolet

Noontime sun 56, Top news 23, Multiple Sclerosis 21, Skin 18, Cancer 18, Virus 15, Cancer - Skin 14, Veterinary 11, Psoriasis 9, Pregnancy 6, Deficiency 5, Vision 5, Mortality 5, Cancer - Colon 5, Vitamin D Receptor 5, Vitamin D Far from equator 5, Cancer - Breast 5, Cancer - Lymphoma 5, Europe 5, Food sources 5, Cardiovascular 4, Books, videos 4, Intervention 4, Gut 4, Immunity 4, Infant-Child 4, Genetics 4, Seniors 4, Obesity 4, Predict Vitamin D 3, Cancer - Other 3, Skin - Dark 3, Middle East 3, Metabolic Syndrome 3, CYP27B1 3, Overviews 2, Cancer - Prostate 2, Cancer - Bladder 2, Conference 2, High Risk 2, Shut-in 2, Orient 2, How much Vitamin D 2, Breathing 2, Kidney 2, Forms 2 (as of Nov 2023)

Close Associations

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