Latitude, Sunlight, Vitamin D, and Childhood Food Allergy/Anaphylaxis

Abstract

Vitamin D is widely known for its role in bone metabolism, but this sterol hormone also has important immunomodulatory properties. Vitamin D is produced by the conversion of D3 in the skin following UVB exposure, or after ingestion of D2 or D3. At the extremes of latitude, there is insufficient UVB intensity in the autumn and winter months for adequate synthesis of vitamin D to occur. Growing evidence implicates vitamin D deficiency in early life in the pathogenesis of nonskeletal disorders (e. g., type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis) and, more recently, atopic disorders. Several studies have reported higher rates of food allergy/anaphylaxis or proxy measures at higher absolute latitudes. Although causality remains to be determined, these studies suggest a possible role for sunlight and/or vitamin D in the pathogenesis of food allergy/anaphylaxis.

Plasma vitamin D and serum total immunoglobulin E levels in patients with seasonal allergic conjunctivitis

“…It is defined that allergic diseases are more prevalent in areas away from equatorial region, and some authors pointed out that the reason may be deficiency of vitamin D (Mullins & Camargo 2012). But there is a wide spread deficiency of vitamin D reported worldwide even in sun-replete areas of the world (Binkley et al 2007).…”

Sun Exposure and Its Effects on Human Health: Mechanisms through Which Sun Exposure Could Reduce the Risk of Developing Obesity and Cardiometabolic Dysfunction

“…Increased sun or UVR exposure is associated with reduced development and/or severity of immune-driven diseases including autoimmune diseases such as arthritis [59], inflammatory bowel disease [60,61], multiple sclerosis [62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69], and allergic conditions such as asthma [39,70] and anaphylaxis [71,72]. The evidence around the protective effects of sun exposure in affecting multiple sclerosis is particularly strong, where increased sun exposure [62,63,66,68,73] (and serum 25(OH)D [67,74]) was associated with reduced risk of multiple sclerosis, particularly in childhood and adolescence [64,65,69] There are many pathways by which exposure to UVR suppresses immunity, through multiple mediators and cellular networks, locally and systemically [39].…”

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“…The global agenda for anaphylaxis research according to the World Allergy Organization anaphylaxis guidelines also stresses the importance of research in anaphylaxis [14]. Similar work looking at the role of vitamin D in anaphylaxis, asthma and allergies has already been published from other parts of the world [15,16].…”