Solar radiation, air pollution, and bronchiolitis hospitalizations in Chile: An ecological study.
Pediatr Pulmonol. 2019 Jul 3. doi: 10.1002/ppul.24421.
Terrazas C1, Castro-Rodriguez JA2, Camargo CA Jr3,4, Borzutzky A5,6.
- Bronchiolitis had 1.3 X longer hospitalization if low Vitamin D (1016 infants) – Sept 2018
- Pollutants increase Respiratory problems, Vitamin D, Omega-3, etc. decrease them – May 2018
Air Pollution reduces Vitamin D production - many studies has the following reasons
Fact: Pollution reduces the amount of time that people are outdoors
Fact: Pollution is often associated with hot temperatures - another reason to not go outdoors
Fact: Less time outdoors results in lower Vitamin D levels
Fact: Pollution attenuates the amount of UVB getting to the skin (but by only a few percent)
Fact:The body's ability to fight Irritation/Inflammation is aided by vitamin D
Fact: All of the types of PM2.5 deaths are also associated with low vitamin D
Most air pollutions reduce Vitamin D (PM2.5 is worst) – June 2021
Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation helps the body fight the effects of pollution.
- There were 60+ references in Air Pollution reduces Vitamin D page as of June 2023
- Inhaled vitamin D might turn out to be especially good form as it goes directly to the lungs.
Breathing category starts with the following
455 items in Breathing category Breathing-related Overviews at VitaminDWiki:
Allergy Lung Cancer TB Asthma Influenza Colds and flu
Pneumonia Respiratory infections COPD Air Polution Smoking Cystic Fibrosis
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More polution, more bronchiolitis
More solar, less bronchiolitis
Bronchiolitis increasing
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate trends and geographic distribution of infant bronchiolitis hospitalizations in Chile, a country with large variation in solar radiation (SR) and high rates of urban air pollution.
METHODS:
We performed a nationwide ecological study of bronchiolitis hospitalizations from 2001 to 2014. We investigated the associations of regional SR (a proxy of vitamin D status) and regional fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution with bronchiolitis hospitalizations. We also evaluated the role of sociodemographic factors, including regional poverty, education, indigenous population, and rurality rates.
RESULTS:
During the study period, 119 479 infants were hospitalized for bronchiolitis in Chile; 59% were boys. The mean bronchiolitis hospitalization rate increased from 29 to 41 per 1000 infants per year (P = .02). There was an inverse correlation between regional SR and incidence of hospital admissions for bronchiolitis (r = -0.52, P = .049), accounting for 27% of these hospitalizations. There was also a significant direct correlation between regional ambient PM2.5 and bronchiolitis hospitalizations (R = 0.68, P = .006), accounting for 42% of the variation in admission rate. High firewood and/or coal residential use for heating, high regional poverty, lower years of education, and high rurality rates were also significantly correlated with bronchiolitis hospitalization rates. None of the environmental or sociodemographic factors evaluated were correlated with regional case fatality rates or length of stay at the hospital.
CONCLUSIONS:
This ecological study revealed significant associations between regional SR, air pollution, and sociodemographic factors with infant bronchiolitis hospitalizations in Chile, suggesting that these factors play a major role in the incidence and severity of respiratory infections in early childhood.