Washout summers putting health of British Asians at risk
Press release: 14 October 2008Researchers are to launch a study to discover how much sunlight British Asians need after two washout summers have led to a resurgence of rickets.
Skin experts at The University of Manchester say the serious bone disorder – caused by a lack of vitamin D – is on the rise among people of South Asian descent due to a lack of sunshine; the majority of the body’s vitamin-D requirements are synthesised after the skin is exposed to sunlight.
“Britain, particularly northern regions of the country, sees very little sunlight through many months of the year,” said lead researcher Lesley Rhodes, Professor of Dermatological Sciences.
“The past two summers have seen below-average levels of sunlight in the UK and this has coincided with a resurgence of rickets, especially among those of South Asian – Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi – descent.
“The pigment in darker skin reduces some effects of sunlight so that larger amounts are required to produce adequate vitamin-D levels, putting this group of the population at greater risk.”
Studies are ongoing to define how much sunlight is required for lighter-skinned people to make adequate amounts of vitamin D in their skin. But very little is known about the sunlight requirements of South Asian people.
“Lack of vitamin D causes significant health problems, both with bone health and, potentially, wider-ranging effects, including types of cancer, so there is an urgent need to perform similar studies in South Asian people,” said Professor Rhodes, who is based at the Photobiology Unit at Hope Hospital in Salford.
“General advice on levels of sun exposure is aimed at paler-skinned people as they are most at risk from skin cancer.
“But this advice may not be appropriate for Asian people whose pigmented skin requires more UV to raise circulating levels of vitamin D, as melanin – the skin’s natural pigment – absorbs a proportion of the UV rays.”
The University of Manchester Photobiology Unit at Hope Hospital will examine whether current, personal levels of sunlight exposure and those recommended by national guidelines can provide sufficient vitamin-D levels for people with South-Asian skin in the UK.
The research, funded by Cancer Research UK, will see how effective UV light is at raising the body’s vitamin-D level in people of South Asian origin. The researchers are seeking healthy volunteers, whose families originate from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, between the ages of 20 and 60 and living in Greater Manchester, to take part in the study.
The study involves measuring individual sunlight-exposure levels, giving UV-light treatments, and assessing vitamin-D production though blood samples. Potential volunteers can email the study researcher: marie.durkin@manchester.ac.uk or call 0161 206 3143.
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