Poster presentation, P127

Official XXIst International Pigment Cell Conference website - 21-24 Sept 2011, Bordeaux - France | updated: September 04 2011

Vitamin D levels and ultraviolet radiation exposure; upon what basis do we increase melanoma risk ?

SPEAKER E. Healy #whois submiter ?
AUTHOR(s) S. Rice, A. Fityan, M. Carpenter, L. Vearncomb, J. Baird, E. Healy

The World Health Organisation estimates that 200,000 cases of cutaneous melanoma and 65,000 melanoma-associated deaths occur each year worldwide. Although exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the primary cause of melanoma, public health guidelines frequently encourage UVR exposure for maintenance of serum vitamin D levels. However, despite studies documenting that exposure to UVR increases vitamin D concentrations, extrapolating from these to suggest that UVR is necessary for maintenance of adequate vitamin D levels is flawed. In addition, it has recently been reported that 10-20 minutes of sun exposure (often promoted in public health statements) is inadequate to increase serum vitamin D and that sufficient sun exposure to generate meaningful benefit would compromise skin health. Unfortunately, “experts” advocating UVR exposure frequently do not provide the original research study evidence upon which they base their views, therefore, to address whether UVR exposure is necessary for maintenance of adequate vitamin D levels, we undertook a detailed systematic review according to the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination’s guidance and standards. Twenty-one literature databases (from 1948 to present day) were searched for original studies using synonyms of vitamin D, diet, supplementation and UVR. A total of 40,150 articles which met the inclusion criteria were screened by two independent reviewers, resulting in 356 interventional and observational studies which reported on effects of UVR on serum vitamin D levels. Extraction of data from these studies identified 53 data sets from 41 cohorts which provided information relevant to UVR exposure and adequate vitamin D levels. In 12 of 25 data sets which recorded winter levels of vitamin D in areas of limited UVR exposure, over 50% of individuals had adequate levels of vitamin D. These results demonstrate that many subjects can maintain adequate vitamin D levels despite negligible UVR exposure, and suggest that policies advocating UVR exposure for vitamin D production are misplaced and inappropriate.



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