Novel Phototherapy Kiosk Shows Promise as a Treatment Option for Low Vitamin D
Note: apparently out of business summer 2021
Mil Med, 2021 Jan 25;186(Supplement_1):722-728. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usaa411.
Mary S McCarthy 1, Evelyn B Elshaw 2, Barbara M Szekely 2, Thomas Beltran 2
Kiosk costs something like $4,000.
It takes a long time to commute to/from the kiosk and get undressed and re-dressed.
6 sessions of 30 minutes each = 180 minutes = 3 hours
Gives a similar blood response as 600 IU Vitamin D daily for 70 days (42,000 IU)
Note: A 50,000 IU vitamin D capsule costs 23 cents (100 capsules for $23)
You can buy a lamp and UV bulb from Amazon for $40 which you can use in your home.
It probably puts out 10 X less UVB and the Kiosk
I have been using one for 8+ years to get UVB about 6 months of the year near Seattle
See also VitaminDWili Sun is better than UVB which is better than vitamin D
- Health benefit of Sunlight is more than Vitamin D in the blood - many studies
- Overview UV and vitamin D
- Book: Sunlight, UV, Vitamin D and Receptor, Skin and other Cancers - Dec 2020
- Sun creates much more that vitamin D in the body - Nitric Oxide for example
- UV provides the best explanation of COVID-19 variation in Italy (74 pcnt) – Nov 2020
Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of a phototherapy kiosk (PK) to engage community adults in health promotion and to stimulate production of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin (OH)D as effectively as a vitamin D3 oral supplement (OS). Although optimal production of vitamin D comes from sun exposure, ultraviolet B radiation with a wavelength of 290 to 320 nm penetrates exposed skin and may produce vitamin D3 using a PK.
Materials and methods: A prospective study was conducted with adults randomized to either six PK treatments or D3 OS for 10 weeks. Serum 25(OH)D was drawn at baseline, 10 weeks, and 14 weeks. Primary outcome was serum 25(OH)D level. Mann-Whitney test was used to assess continuous data and Chi squared test for pairwise comparisons of categorical data. Significance was set at P < .05.
Results: With 18% attrition, final sample size was 88; OS, n = 45, PK, n = 43. Sample was mostly female (60%), median age 35 years, with no differences observed between groups for age, race/ethnicity, marital status, military affiliation, or season of enrollment. Median daily intake of calcium and vitamin D was well below the recommended daily allowance for each nutrient, and group. Baseline median serum 25(OH)D levels were similar. By 10 weeks, PK median level was 30 ng/mL (interquartile range IQR 25.8-37.0) and OS was 26 ng/mL (IQR 21.5-30.5), P = .02. The difference in 25(OH)D levels persisted at 14 weeks; the PK group returned to baseline, 27 ng/mL (IQR 22.0-32.5), and OS group declined to 21 ng/mL (IQR 17.0-30.0), P = .02.
Conclusion: Programmed ultraviolet B phototherapy appears to be an efficacious alternative to oral vitamin D supplementation with consistent use.