Overview UV and vitamin D

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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

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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

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

From Tanning Guru

Hypothesis: UVA decreases vitamin D: many hints

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Tanning

• Sun increases longevity but tanning bed decreases it- April 2011.pdf file
• All items Noontime Sun and Tanning and Vitamin D 331 items
• Perhaps UV is Addicting
• Vitamin D bulb for use in the home - or perhaps office
• Vitamin D from UVB lamps

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25+ VitaminDWiki pages with TANNING in the title

This list is automatically updated

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Measure UV

• UV Calculators
• UV Meters
• UV Card

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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

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

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Sunscreens

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

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Increased sunscreen ==> increased melanoma

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

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

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UV Other

• All items in category UV and vitamin D 381 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

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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

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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 sources5, 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)

Short url =http://is.gd/UV_VitD