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Sun exposure and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels in a community sample: Quantifying the association with electronic dosimeters

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Abstract

There is uncertainty about the amount of sun exposure required to increase low blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D3) levels, a possible disease risk factor. The study aimed to quantify the association between sun exposure and serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations in a multiethnic community sample (n=502) living in Auckland (37°S) and Dunedin (46°S), New Zealand, aged 18–85 years. They wore electronic ultraviolet dosimeters between March and November (autumn, winter and spring) for 8 weeks to record their sun exposure. This was converted to standard erythemal doses (SEDs), corrected for clothing to generate equivalent full-body exposures, SEDEFB. Blood samples were collected at the end of weeks 4 and 8 to measure 25(OH)D3. Median weekly SEDEFB was 0.33 during weeks 1–4 and 0.34 during weeks 5–8. Weekly exposures <0.5 SEDEFB during weeks 5–8 were associated with decreasing 25(OH)D3 concentrations at the end of week 8. There was a non-linear association between sun exposure and 25(OH)D3, with most of the increase in 25(OH)D3 being at exposures <2 SEDEFB per week. This finding suggests that vitamin D status is increased by regular small sun exposures (<2 SEDEFB per week), and that greater exposures result in only small additional increases in 25(OH)D3.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand (grant number 07-275), and the Cancer Society of New Zealand (to AIR). We thank Vanessa Hammond, Jan Jopson and Kenneth Gibbs for data collection and Nathalie Huston for research support in Dunedin, and Debbie Raroa and Carol Taylor for data collection and Sandar Min for data processing in Auckland. James Liley assisted with processing of missing data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Robert K R Scragg & Alistair W Stewart

  2. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Lauder, New Zealand

    Richard L McKenzie & J Ben Liley

  3. Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Anthony I Reeder

  4. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Martin W Allen

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  1. Robert K R Scragg
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Correspondence to Robert K R Scragg.

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Scragg, R., Stewart, A., McKenzie, R. et al. Sun exposure and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels in a community sample: Quantifying the association with electronic dosimeters. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 27, 471–477 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2016.51

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