Evidence of protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in reducing COVID-19 deaths
- Prior studies indicate the protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in human health, mediated by vitamin D synthesis. In this observational study, we empirically outline a negative association of UVB radiation as measured by ultraviolet index (UVI) with the number of COVID-19 deaths. We apply a fixed-effect log-linear regression model to a panel dataset of 152 countries over 108 days (n = 6524). We use the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths and case-fatality rate (CFR) as the main dependent variables and isolate the UVI effect from potential confounding factors. After controlling for time-constant and time-varying factors, we find that a permanent unit increase in UVI is associated with a 1.2 percentage points decline in daily growth rates of cumulative COVID-19 deaths [p < 0.01] and a 1.0 percentage points decline in the CFR daily growth rate [p < 0.05]. These results represent a significant percentage reduction in terms of daily growth rates of cumulative COVID-19 deaths (− 12%) and CFR (− 38%). We find a significant negative association between UVI and COVID-19 deaths, indicating evidence of the protective role of UVB in mitigating COVID-19 deaths. If confirmed via clinical studies, then the possibility of mitigating COVID-19 deaths via sensible sunlight exposure or vitamin D intervention would be very attractive.
Author: | Rahul Kalippurayil MoozhipurathORCiDGND, Lennart KraftORCiDGND, Bernd SkieraORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-566465 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74825-z |
ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
Parent Title (German): | Scientific reports |
Publisher: | Macmillan Publishers Limited |
Place of publication: | [London] |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of Publication (online): | 2020/10/19 |
Date of first Publication: | 2020/10/19 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Release Date: | 2020/10/29 |
Volume: | 10 |
Issue: | Article number: 17705 |
HeBIS-PPN: | 473539276 |
Institutes: | Wirtschaftswissenschaften / Wirtschaftswissenschaften |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
Sammlungen: | Universitätspublikationen |
Licence (German): | ![]() |