UVR And Coronary Heart Disease

UVR And Coronary Heart Disease

The benefits of sensible, moderate and responsible exposure to UVR far outweigh the minimal and manageable risks involved, especially when one considers that maintenance of optimal levels of vitamin D appears to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease.

The Problem
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in the United States today, causing 726,974 deaths in 1997. In addition, there were more than 21 million cases of coronary heart disease reported in 1997, 4.2 million of which required hospitalization for an average stay of 5.2 days per admission.

As sobering as these statistics are, the age-adjusted death rate dropped by a little more than 3 percent for coronary heart disease in 1997, largely due to a decrease in the number of people smoking cigarettes, an increased awareness of the value of a physical fitness program, adoption of healthier dietary habits and a greater awareness of the value of nutritional supplements. Although a 3-percent drop does not seem like much, it means a reduction of approximately 25,000 annual deaths from this disease each year.

Now, imagine what would happen if a pharmaceutical company announced that a newly developed drug offered the possibility of further reducing the relative risk of suffering a heart attack from 1.0 to 0.33, a 66-percent reduction. I think you would agree this announcement would cause quite a stir. Understandably, the news of this discovery would be on the front page of every newspaper and the lead item on every morning television and radio program because the lives of several hundred thousand people might be spared each year.

That is why it is difficult to understand why a scientific article published in the International Journal of Epidemiology titled Myocardial Infarction is Inversely Associated with Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Levels: A Community-Based Study, by Scragg, et al, has been all but ignored by the media. The authors clearly showed that the relative risk of suffering myocardial infarction decreases dramatically as the level of vitamin D3 is increased.

In summary, the data shows that individuals with significantly sub-optimal levels of vitamin D3 are three times more likely to suffer a heart attack than those who maintain optimal levels. Therefore, logic and common sense dictate that an intelligent individual interested in wellness would be wise to find a way of maintaining an optimal level of vitamin D3 year round in order to reduce the relative risk of suffering a potentially fatal heart attack.

How To Accomplish This Goal
The authors concluded that these results provide support for the hypothesis that increased exposure to sunlight is protective against coronary heart disease and that UVR is the factor that protects against the disease by increasing body levels of vitamin D in humans. As a salon owner, you know the best way to make sure that an optimal level of vitamin D3 is maintained year round, without worrying about vitamin D toxicity, is to patronize local indoor tanning salons every other or every third day. Due to the fact that indoor tanning salons always have a controlled supply of UVR available, problems related to inclement weather, seasonality and geographical location are eliminated.

However, because of the intense lobbying efforts by vested interest groups who recommend that sun avoidance and daily use of sunscreen no matter the location or season, the American public has not been provided the opportunity to hear both sides of the argument. Tanning salon owners, who are the ones in the best position to provide information about the benefits of sensible, moderate and responsible exposure to UVR, are prohibited from making statements considered to be health claims and the public suffers as a consequence.

Consider The Following
There were approximately 1,200 deaths attributed to non-melanoma skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma) in 1997 and, as mentioned previously, 726,974 deaths from coronary heart disease. That means there were 606 deaths from coronary heart disease for every death from non-melanoma skin cancer. Therefore, vested interest groups advocating UVR avoidance and daily sunscreen use no matter the location or season are ignoring the rights and welfare of 606 individuals who might benefit from sensible, moderate and responsible exposure to UVR when they focus on the one individual whose risk may outweigh the benefits. When one adds the benefits that might accrue to individuals with breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis, the rights of more than 1,000 individuals who might benefit from sensible, moderate and responsible exposure to UVR are being ignored in an attempt to help the one individual who may be adversely affected by overexposure to UVR.

From a common sense public point of view, it is clear that governmental agencies must support and champion a paradigm shift in the national attitude toward UVR. It is important to focus on the rights of those 1,000 citizens who may benefit from sensible, moderate and responsible exposure to UVR in order to do the greatest good for the largest number.

In the meantime, continue to use articles such as this and those in SunWellness to inform the public that the incontrovertible benefits of sensible, moderate and responsible exposure to UVR far outweigh the minimal and manageable risks involved, especially in the prevention of coronary heart disease.