Low sun exposure linked to leukemia
Rise and shine, sunshine. Studies show that people who are less exposed to the sun are at risk of Vitamin D deficiency that may lead to leukemia.
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reveals that people living in areas close to the poles are twice more likely to develop leukemia than those in equatorial regions.
“These results suggest that much of the burden of leukemia worldwide is due to the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency we are experiencing in winter in populations distant from the equator,” said Cedric Garland, DrPH, adjunct professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health and member of Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health.
“People who live in areas with low solar ultraviolet B exposure tend to have low levels of vitamin D metabolites in their blood,” Garland said. “These low levels place them at high risk of certain cancers, including leukemia.”
Leukemia rates were highest in countries relatively closer to the poles, such as Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Ireland, Canada and the United States. They were lowest in countries closer to the equator, such as Bolivia, Samoa, Madagascar and Nigeria.
These studies do not necessarily provide final evidence,” said Garland, “but they have been helpful in the past in identifying associations that have helped minimize cancer risk.”
The findings are published in the Dec. 4, 2015 online issue of PLOS One.
Category: Education, Wellness and Complementary Therapies
