Tag: Vitamin D

Getting more sun could help against opioid “scourge,” US medics say – dpa international

Vitamin D has been touted as beneficial in curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus (Simon Roughneen)

DUBLIN –A lack of Vitamin D “strongly exaggerates the craving for and effects of opioids,” according to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital. The vitamin, which has been touted for potentially reducing the effects of coronavirus, is produced naturally in the human body after exposure to sunlight. So not getting outdoors enough means “potentially increasing the risk for [opioid] dependence and addiction,” according to the research, which was published on Friday by the journal Science Advances. For those living in cloudier regions, Vitamin D supplements could help address “the ongoing scourge of opioid addiction.”

Sunlight a factor in glaring differences between Covid death tolls – dpa international

Sunny outdoors during the first pandemic lockdown in Malaysia, which has reported 1,313 deaths linked to Covid-19 (Simon Roughneen)

DUBLIN — Data from hard-hit countries such as Britain, Italy and the United States suggest sunnier areas “are associated with fewer deaths from Covid-19,” according to scientists at the University of Edinburgh. Published in the British Journal of Dermatology, the study said “higher ambient UVA [ultraviolet A radiation] exposure” is “associated with lower Covid-19 specific mortality.” The team compared deaths linked to Covid-19 in the US from January to April 2020 with UV levels for almost 2,500 US counties, before replicating the methodology for Britain and Italy. The three countries have reported some of the world’s highest pandemic-related death numbers, both per capita and absolute, though fatalities dropped significantly during the summer months.

Medics find ‘direct evidence’ of vitamin D cutting Covid death risk – dpa international

Vitamin D has been touted as beneficial in curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus (Simon Roughneen)

DUBLIN — People showing symptoms of Covid-19 are less likely to die or develop severe illness if they have enough vitamin D in their systems, according to Boston University’s School of Medicine. Analysing blood samples from 235 patients hospitalized with Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the researchers found “a significant decreased risk for adverse clinical outcomes” among those who were “vitamin D sufficient.” The findings, published on Friday in the science journal PLOS, were described by co-author Michael F Holick as “direct evidence” that enough of the vitamin “can reduce the complications” caused by a novel coronavirus infection. The analysis suggests patients who are vitamin D sufficient are “51.5 percent less likely to die” compared to those listed as “deficient.”