School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley 6009, Australia.
Department of Immunology and Dermatology, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Avenue, Nedlands 6009, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 19;18(10):5429. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18105429.
The dramatic rise in allergic disease has occurred in tandem with recent environmental changes and increasing indoor lifestyle culture. While multifactorial, one consistent allergy risk factor has been reduced sunlight exposure. However, vitamin D supplementation studies have been disappointing in preventing allergy, raising possible independent effects of ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. The aim of this study was to examine whether UV light exposure influences the development of allergic disease in early childhood. Direct sunlight exposure (290-380 nm) in early infancy was measured via UV dosimeters. Outdoor exposure, sun protective behaviours, and allergy outcomes were assessed over the first 2.5 years of life with clinical assessment appointments at 3, 6, 12 and 30 months of age. Children with eczema had less ( = 0.038) direct UV light exposure between 0-3 months of age (median (IQR) 747 (473-1439) J/m) than children without eczema (median (IQR) 1204 (1717-1843) J/m); and less outdoor exposure time (7 min/day) between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. compared to children without eczema (20 min/day, = 0.011). These associations were seen independent of vitamin D status, and after adjusting for other potential confounders. Whilst we could not find any associations between direct UV light exposure and other allergic disease outcomes, exposure to UV light appears to be beneficial in reducing the risk of eczema development in early childhood. Further research is required to determine optimal levels of UV light exposure while balancing the potential risks.
过敏性疾病的急剧增加与最近的环境变化和日益增加的室内生活方式文化同时发生。虽然多因素，但一致的过敏风险因素之一是阳光照射减少。然而，维生素 D 补充研究在预防过敏方面令人失望，这可能提示紫外线（UV）光暴露有独立作用。本研究旨在探讨 UV 光暴露是否会影响儿童早期过敏疾病的发展。通过紫外线剂量计测量婴儿早期的直接阳光暴露（290-380nm）。在生命的头 2.5 年中，通过临床评估预约（3、6、12 和 30 个月）评估户外活动、防晒行为和过敏结果。患有湿疹的儿童在 0-3 个月（中位数（IQR）747（473-1439）J/m）期间的直接 UV 光暴露（ = 0.038）少于没有湿疹的儿童（中位数（IQR）1204（1717-1843）J/m）；与没有湿疹的儿童（20 分钟/天， = 0.011）相比，在上午 11 点至下午 3 点之间的户外活动时间（7 分钟/天）较少。这些关联独立于维生素 D 状态存在，并且在调整其他潜在混杂因素后仍然存在。虽然我们没有发现直接 UV 光暴露与其他过敏疾病结果之间存在任何关联，但 UV 光暴露似乎有助于降低儿童早期湿疹发展的风险。需要进一步研究以确定最佳的 UV 光暴露水平，同时平衡潜在风险。
