Health - Benefits of sunlight for respiratory ailments.

Sunlight may help evade respiratory ailments--study

by neha gupta - June 23, 2010

Exposing the body to sunlight and allowing vitamin D to pour in may help reduce the impact of influenza and other respiratory illnesses, reveals a novel study conducted by investigators at Greenwich Hospital and Yale University School of Medicine.

Maintaining a high level of vitamin D, in the range of 38 nanograms per milliliter or more, can reduce the probability of contracting ailments including nasal congestion, sore throat, and common cold.

Lead Researcher Dr. James R. Sabetta suggests, “since vitamin D is generally acquired through exposure to sunlight, there is a higher probability that people living in sunnier climate often have higher rates of the compound in their body, thus making them less susceptible to the influenza virus.”

198 adults studied
The research led by James R. Sabetta, MD, followed 198 healthy adults for six months during the fall and winter of 2009-2010.

The blood samples of the participants were measured every month using a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test, an accurate measurement of vitamin D levels in the body

However, the vitamin levels of the study group were not revealed to the researchers before the end of the study.

The participants were further asked to report any symptoms of a respiratory infection like nasal congestion, sore throat, cough with or without fever, chills, fatigue, and general malaise.

Results of the study
Out of the 18 people whose vitamin D levels were higher than 38 ng/ml, only three developed viral infections.

Of the 180 others, 81 participants, i.e. 45 percent, developed similar infections.

Those with better vitamin D levels showed a significant reduction in the number of ill days.

Supplementing with vitamin D to achieve a blood level 38 ng/ml or higher could result in a significant health benefit by reducing the incidence of viral infections of the respiratory tract, suggest the study researchers.

In their analysis paper, the team figured out that if a person had a vitamin D level of 38, the risk of allergycame down by 50 percent. "It is true that level 38 is just a little about what you should have to be considered in the sufficient range," Sabetta says.

However, further research is required to prove the effectiveness of vitamin D supplements in the prevention of the infections.

The study has been published in the peer-reviewed open access journal PloS ONE.

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