UV light that is. I've mentioned previously that vitamin D is a chemopreventive agent against several types of cancers. North Carolina investigators wondered if exposure to sunlight early in life has a more potent protective effect against prostate cancer than fun in the sun later in life.
They examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study*. Using solar radiation in the state of birth as a measure of sun exposure in early life, the researchers looked for correlation between childhood sun exposure and subsequent development of prostate cancer in adulthood.
Men born in regions with high solar radiation had half the prostate cancer risk compared with men born in cloudier regions. Those who moved away from overcast skies to sunnier climes as adults halved their risk of fatal prostate cancer although their overall prostate cancer risk remained the same as peers who stayed with the gray.
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*Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 16, 1283-1286, June 1, 2007.
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2 comments:
Ok--I am getting a mental picture here. Is it recommended, then, that man expose (shall we say) the pertinent parts to more of the sun's rays?
Tee hee.
This may also explain one reason African American men are more prone to aggressive prostate cancer - their skin may prevent absorption of Vitamin D.
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