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Is Sun Exposure Linked to a Longer Life?

Is Sun Exposure Linked to a Longer Life?
April 15
14:39 2016

On March 21st, the Journal of Internal Medicine published a study that showed that women with regular exposure to sunlight have lower mortality rates. This is contradictory to everything women have always been taught about staying out of the sun and covering up as much as possible.

The study looked at almost 30,000 individuals over the course of 20 years. The women who regularly were exposed to sun had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and non-cancer/non-CVD death compared to women who avoided sun.

Of course, the study does acknowledge that prolonged exposure can lead to skin cancer. But, it also found that participants who regularly exposed themselves to the sun and developed skin cancer had a better prognosis than those who had skin cancer and avoided the sun.

Many critics have argued that the researchers failed to look at other lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise when comparing lifespans between the two groups. It’s also uncertain whether the benefits are caused by the intake of vitamin D or another unknown effect.

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Mina Sinai

Mina Sinai

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