Low Sunlight Levels Linked to Pancreatic Cancer
Low Sunlight Levels Linked to Pancreatic Cancer – Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that countries that have the least amount of sunlight have the highest pancreatic cancer rates.
Researchers say that people living in in high altitudes or places with heavy cloud cover, don’t get to make vitamin D naturally, via exposure to sunlight, and vitamin D deficiency seems to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.
According to the lead author Cedric F. Garland, people living in sunny countries near the equator have only one-sixth the rate of pancreatic cancer when compared to other countries. Though people can get vitamin D via fortified foods and supplements, vitamin D that is directly produced by the body seems to be more important.
While there have been studies that linked 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency to breast and colorectal cancer, this is the first study to link vitamin D deficiency to pancreatic cancer. For the study, researchers looked at data from 107 countries and accounted for other risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, and alcohol consumption.
Pancreas secretes enzymes that help digestion, and hormones that regulate metabolism of sugars. Pancreatic cancer is not detected until it’s advanced as symptoms don’t appear until the later stages of the disease, and hence, it the leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
Category: News
