Parkinson’s patients 50X less likely to get even a little sun– meta-analysis

Created January 2019

The Association Between Vitamin D Status, Vitamin D Supplementation, Sunlight Exposure, and Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Med Sci Monit 2019; 25:666-674, DOI: 10.12659/MSM.912840

Zonglei Zhou, Ruzhen Zhou, Zengqiao Zhang, Kunpeng Li

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Sichuan University West China School of Public Health, Chengdu, Sichuan, China (mainland)

Also, this study found that Parkinson’s 2.6X more likely if < 20 ng/mL Note: Multiple Sclerosis is another disease for which UV appears to be better than Vitamin D --- * Embrace the Sun – benefits of the sun (Nitric Oxide etc.) – book June 2018 * Many wavelengths of light provide health benefits, not just UV – March 2016 * Regular sun exposure benefits health – Dec 2016 * Parkinson’s patients – 41 percent now supplement with Vitamin D – Nov 2017 * The sun appears to generate Co-Q10 in our bodies when we eat our greens – Greger April 2016 Multiple Sclerosis * Multiple Sclerosis suppressed by an Ultraviolet wavelength not associated with Vitamin D (mice) – Nov 2016 important clue * Multiple Sclerosis 2X more likely if low winter UV – June 2018 All studies in both Mutliple Sclerosis and UV are listed here: {category} Overview Parkinson's and Vitamin D contains the following summary {include} Items in both categories Noontime sun and Cognition are listed here: {category} Items in both categories Noontime sun and Parkinson's are listed here: {category}

📄 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki

BACKGROUND: This literature review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the association between deficiency of vitamin D, or 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and Parkinson’s disease, and whether vitamin D from supplements and sunlight improves the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A literature review and meta-analysis were performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Systematic literature review was performed using databases that included the Web of Science, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Embase. The Jadad scale (the Oxford quality scoring system) and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) were used to evaluate the quality of the studies.

RESULTS: Eight studies were included in the meta-analysis. Both 25-hydroxyvitamin D insufficiency (<30 ng/mL) (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.29–2.43; P<0.001) and deficiency (<20 ng/mL) (OR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.98–3.27; P<0.001) were significantly associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease when compared with normal controls

Sunlight exposure (>15 min/week) was significantly associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease ( OR, 0.02 ; 95% CI, 0.00–0.10; P<0.001).

The use of vitamin D supplements was effective in increasing 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (SMD, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.40–2.18; P<0.001), but had no significant effect on motor function (MD, –1.82; 95% CI, –5.10–1.45; P=0.275) in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

CONCLUSIONS: Insufficiency and deficiency of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and reduced exposure to sunlight were significantly associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. However, vitamin D supplements resulted in no significant benefits in improving motor function for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Sunshine references

31] Sato Y, Honda Y, Iwamoto J et al: Abnormal bone and calcium metabolism in immobilized Parkinson's disease patients. Mov Disord, 2005; 20: 1598-603
42] Abou-Raya S, Helmii M, Abou-Raya A: Bone and mineral metabolism in older adults with Parkinson's disease. Age Ageing, 2009; 38: 675-80
43] Sato Y, Kikuyama M, Oizumi K: High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and reduced bone mass in Parkinson's disease. Neurology, 1997; 49: 1273-78