- Title
- Can optimum solar radiation exposure or supplemented vitamin D intake reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms?
- Creator
- Abraham, Joji; Dowling, Kim; Florentine, Singarayer
- Date
- 2021
- Type
- Text; Journal article; Review
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/175471
- Identifier
- vital:14991
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org.10.3390/ijerph18020740
- Identifier
- ISBN:1661-7827
- Abstract
- The foremost mortality-causing symptom associated with COVID-19 is acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). A significant correlation has been identified between the deficiency in vitamin D and the risk of developing ARDS. It has been suggested that if we can reduce or modify ARDS in COVID-19 patients, we may significantly reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and associated mortality rates. The increased mortality of dark-skinned people, who have a reduced UV absorption capacity, may be consistent with diminished vitamin D status. The factors associated with COVID-19 mortality, such as old age, ethnicity, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, are all found to be linked with vitamin D deficiency. Based on this review and as a precautionary measure, it is suggested that the adoption of appropriate and safe solar exposure and vitamin D enriched foods and supplements should be considered to reduce the possible severity of COVID-19 symptoms. Safe sun exposure is deemed beneficial globally, specifically in low and middle- income countries, as there is no cost involved. It is also noted that improved solar exposure and vitamin D levels can reduce the impact of other diseases as well, thus assisting in maintaining general human well-being. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Relation
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 2 (2021), p. 1-21
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Rights
- © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/)
- Rights
- Open Access
- Subject
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); Acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI); Calcifediol; Calcitriol; Coronavirus; Environment; Human health; Infectious disease; Pandemic; SARSCoV- 2; COVID-19; Health risk; Mortality; Public health; Radiation exposure; Respiratory disease; Solar radiation; Symptoms; Viral disease; Vitamin; Vitamin D; Human; Prevention and control; Respiratory distress syndrome; Sunlight; Vitamin D deficiency; Humans; MD Multidisciplinary
- Full Text
- Reviewed
- Hits: 15462
- Visitors: 15373
- Downloads: 193
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Published version | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |