Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma risk reduced by exposure to sunlight

[Guest guest]

[Yet another study that supports the importance of Vitamin D in prevention]

 

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma risk reduced by exposure to sunlight

06 Dec 2004

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17369

 

Researchers from Sydney University, Australia, have found that your risk of

developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is reduced after high exposure to

sunlight. NHL is a type of blood cancer. Dr Anne Kricker, team leader, was

looking at whether high exposure to sunlight would increase NHS risk - the

researchers were surprised to find that, in fact, the opposite seems to be

the case.

 

You can read about this study in the International Journal of Cancer.

 

The researchers looked at 704 patients with NHL and 694 randomly selected

matched controls. They were aged 20-74.

 

People's exposure to sunlight over up to sixty years was assessed by means

of a questionnaire and phone interviews. Such factors as working and non

working days as well as vacation periods were taken into account.

 

They found that the more hours people were exposed to the sun the lower

their risk of NHL was.

 

Those at the top end of sun exposure were 35% less likely to get NHL than

those at the bottom end.

 

It is possible that the increased production of vitamin D, due to more sun

exposure, offered people more protection from NHL. Dr Kricker and team

suggested that " increasing evidence that vitamin D may protect against

cancer makes ultraviolet-mediated synthesis of vitamin D a plausible

mechanism whereby sun exposure might protect against NHL. "

 

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Sunshine May Reduce Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Risk

http://www.cancerpage.com/news/article.asp?id=7777

 

NEW YORK DEC 03, 2004 (Reuters Health) - Results of a study published in

the December 10th issue of the International Journal of Cancer suggest that

sun exposure has a protective effect against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

 

Dr. Anne Kricker, of the University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues

examined whether high sun exposure is associated with an increased risk of

NHL. Involved in the population-based, case-control study were adults

between the ages of 20 and 74 years. In total, 704 cases and 694 randomly

selected matched controls were enrolled.

 

The researchers used a self-administered questionnaire and a telephone

interview to estimate details of typical sun exposure over as long as 6

decades. These took into account factors such as working, non-working and

vacation days.

 

The risk of NHL decreased with increasing reported sun exposure

hours. With a relative odds ratio of 1.0 for the lowest exposure quartile,

the odds ratios for successively higher quartiles were 0.72, 0.66, and 0.65

(p = 0.01). The association of non-working-day exposure with NHL was

stronger, with an odds ratio for the highest quartile of 0.47 (p = 0.0001).

 

The risk also decreased with vacation day sun exposure. Relative to 1.0

for the lowest quartile, the odds ratios for successively higher quartiles

were 0.98, 0.82, and 0.60. These inverse associations were strongest in

women and during childhood. Working day exposure was not associated with NHL.

 

The researchers conclude that " increasing evidence that vitamin D may

protect against cancer makes ultraviolet-mediated synthesis of vitamin D a

plausible mechanism whereby sun exposure might protect against NHL. "

 

SOURCE:

 

* International Journal of Cancer 2004;112:865-871.