The health benefits of exposing skin to
sunlight may far outweigh the risk of
developing skin cancer, according to
scientists.
Edinburgh University research suggests
sunlight helps reduce blood pressure, cutting
heart attack and stroke risks and even
prolonging life.
UV rays were found to release a compound
that lowers blood pressure.
Researchers said more studies would be
carried out to determine if it is time to
reconsider advice on skin exposure.
Heart disease and stroke linked to high blood
pressure are estimated to lead to about 80
times more deaths than those from skin
cancer in the UK.
Production of the pressure-reducing
compound, nitric oxide, is separate from the
body's manufacture of vitamin D, which rises
after exposure to sunshine.
Researchers said that until now vitamin D
production had been considered the sole
benefit of the sun to human health.
During the research, dermatologists studied
the blood pressure of 24 volunteers under UV
and heat lamps.
In one session, the volunteers were exposed
to both UV rays and the heat of the lamps.
In the other, the UV rays were blocked so
that only the heat affected the skin.
The results showed that blood pressure
dropped significantly for an hour after
exposure to UV rays, but not after the heat-
only sessions.
Scientists said that this suggested it was the
sun's UV rays that brought health benefits.
The volunteers' vitamin D levels remained
unaffected in both sessions.
'Reconsider our advice'
Dr Richard Weller, a senior lecturer in
dermatology at Edinburgh University, said:
"We suspect that the benefits to heart health
of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin
cancer.
"The work we have done provides a
mechanism that might account for this, and
also explains why dietary vitamin D
supplements alone will not be able to
compensate for lack of sunlight.
"We now plan to look at the relative risks of
heart disease and skin cancer in people who
have received different amounts of sun
exposure.
"If this confirms that sunlight reduces the
death rate from all causes, we will need to
reconsider our advice on sun exposure."
The study will be presented on Friday in
Edinburgh at the world's largest gathering of
skin experts. The International Investigative
Dermatology conference starts on Wednesday
and runs until Saturday.
Source:bbc
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