Or: living-longer is a predictive factor for sun exposure.<p>Or: people who live a long time, often go outside.<p>Or: non-sedentary lifestyles predict long-life.<p>Or: to quote the paper 2/3rds in,<p><pre><code> "We acknowledge several major limitations of this study.
First, it is not possible to differentiate between active sun exposure habits and a healthy lifestyle".
</code></pre>
This isn't doing the cultural perception of science any favours.
I am a "sun convert". I used to avoid it like the plague because I burn so easily. However, I started reading the dangers of low vitamin D and some of the positive effects of the sun (mood, circadian rhythm, etc). I am convinced now that the sun is a net positive when exposed in moderation (I do avoid burning like the plague, however).<p>During the summer months, I now get 20 min full body exposure daily and I supplement D3 on the days I can't (and months I can't - I live in a colder climate). As my body has built up tolerance, I've even developed a light tan and I've found my skin no longer burns as easily. Best of all, I just look healthier and my mood is better.
> We acknowledge several major limitations of this study. First, it is not possible to differentiate between active sun exposure habits and a healthy lifestyle, and secondly, the results are of an observational nature; therefore, a causal link cannot be proven. A further limitation is that we did not have access to exercise data from study initiation; however, similar sHR values were obtained when including exercise for those women who answered the second questionnaire in 2000.<p>This is the rub. We don't know sun-exposure is merely a signal of some healthy lifestyle; but evidence from the later questionnaire suggests that normalizing for exercise still leads to a reduction in risk.
I am confident we’re underestimating the role of sun exposure and time spent outdoors in health today. At the very least, there are multiple well-done studies connecting time spent outside with myopia, light exposure with vitamin D levels (which are then linked to everything from covid mortality rates to depression)<p>I also have to say that I bought into the HN idea of “you can fix life indoors” because it’s an attractive idea. Air quality is far lower indoors? Just buy multiple high quality HEPA air filters and a humidifier and perhaps a dehumidifier if needed, and oh you’ll want a high quality CO2 monitor because those levels are likely high as well. Vitamin D? Just take a supplement! Except oh wait, if you’re deficient you’ll need a large amount, so take a bunch… but vitamin D is fat soluble, so now you have hypervitaminosis D which is terrible, so really you should just get your vitamin D levels checked regularly, which is not cheap. Eyesight issues? Eh, sunlight exposure can help prevent that better than anything else we know, but let’s not talk about that, let’s just let everyone ruin their vision by staying in dim rooms and focusing on close objects and then you can get LASIK, but oh wait, that often isn’t permanent and sometimes it gives people dry eyes so bad they kill themselves. Sleep issues, because you don’t get enough sun exposure to regulate your circadian rhythm? Just take an Ambien or similarly powerful drug, if you get side effects you can medicate those away. And so on, and so on, and so on… Everything can be solved through technology and medication, air sensors and supplements and the like.
The data is pretty fun to look through. Low alcohol consumption, excess disposable income, assumed healthier diet, presumably more time-off, etc.<p>Although the article seems like common sense science, it does bring up the question of why there's such an opposition regarding moderate sun exposure. I think the question that makes me really curious is whether natural sun exposure is more beneficial than supplementation or vice-versa.<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4391331/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4391331/</a><p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3356951/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3356951/</a>
My mood is so positively influenced by sun exposure or just by a clear sunny sky, that I really don’t understand why you would avoid it. For me it’s one of those things where the risk is worth the benefits.
Personally, I think Weller's line of thinking may fit here:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh9lDWPMWrM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh9lDWPMWrM</a>
(TED Talk - Richard Weller: Could the sun be good for your heart?)<p>TL;DW - It's not just Vitamin-D generated from UV exposure but nitric oxide release in the skin, that may have a positive effect on health.
> Nonsmokers who avoided sun exposure had a life expectancy similar to smokers in the highest sun exposure group, indicating that avoidance of sun exposure is a risk factor for death of a similar magnitude as smoking.<p>And yes, while correlation isn't causality, it's very difficult to separate sunlight exposure from a healthy lifestyle. Since we don't know exact causality, the takeaway should be this: Get regular exercise and sun exposure if you want to live a longer, healthier life. The benefits far outweigh the risk of skin cancer.
One thing I don't understand is how do animals get their Vitamin D since they are covered in fur. Surely it's not only humans for whom Vitamin D is important.
Quickly skimming the article, it seems like they address the use of sunscreen or related blockers, only to say that the advice "when you put sunscreen you can stay very long in the sun" seems wrong, which I thought was well known at least among scientists in the domain.<p>Although that provides additional sourced guidance for public health officials, for sure.
1. Avoid exposure to sun.<p>2. Ensure vitamin D levels are right (In Swedish latitude vitamin D deficiency is common in the winter)<p>3. Control for confounding variables.
This study doesn’t seem to control for fitness or activity level of the folks they tracked. Also doesn’t seem to talk about that in the analysis of proposed mechanisms.