Increased exposure to the sun’s rays, specifically UVA rays, could act as a reducer in mortality rates. A correlation has even been found that the sunniest areas are associated with fewer deaths from COVID-19 .
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, who compared all the deaths recorded by COVID-19 in the United States from January to April 2020 with the ultraviolet radiation levels of 2,474 counties in the country during the same time period.
Higher levels of vitamin D?
The study found that people living in areas with the highest level of exposure to UVA rays, which makes up 95 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet light, had a lower risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to those with lower levels. The analysis was repeated in England and Italy with the same results .
The researchers took into account factors known to be associated with increased exposure to the virus and risk of death, such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, population density, air pollution, temperature and conditions. infection levels in local areas.
The observed reduction in the risk of death from COVID-19 could not be explained by higher levels of vitamin D. Only areas with insufficient levels of UVB to produce a significant amount of vitamin D in the body were included in the study. One explanation for the lower number of deaths, then, could be that exposure to sunlight causes the skin to release nitric oxide. This can reduce the replication capacity of the coronavirus, as has been identified in some laboratory studies .