Abstract
 Mapping Vitamin D Deficiency and Breast and Colon Cancers Track: Health and Human Services Author(s): Sharif Mohr, Edward Gorham, Frank Garland, Cedric Garland, William Grant, Robyn Highfill-McRoy Breast and colon cancer death rates are paradoxically highest in countries distant from the equator and lowest in equatorial countries. It is known that adequate levels of vitamin D, which requires sunlight for synthesis in the skin, tend to be associated with lower death rates of these cancers. Residents of near-equatorial areas synthesize more vitamin D than those living at high latitudes. To confirm this, we obtained sunlight measurements from NASA/NOAA and age-adjusted cancer incidence and mortality rates for 174 countries from the World Health Organization. We created GIS displays of the association between sunlight levels and disease rates using three dimensional analysis. We confirmed that the sunniest (mainly equatorial) regions had rates of breast and colon cancer that were only one-fifth those of very high latitudes. Countries at middle latitudes were intermediate. Dietary differences explained some but not all of this association. Sharif Mohr GEO Centers, Inc. Behavioral Sciences and Epidemiology P. O. Box 85122 Bldg. 328, Room 210 Center Wing San Diego , CA 92186-5122 US Phone: (619) 553-6889 Fax: (619) 553-8459 E-mail: mohr@nhrc.navy.mil Edward Gorham Naval Health Resreach Center/University of California San Diego Epidemiology P.O. Box 85122 San Diego , CA 92186-5122 US Phone: (619) 524-9876 Fax: (619) 524-9888 E-mail: gorham@nhrc.navy.mil Frank Garland Naval Health Research Center Headquarters P. O. Box 85122 San Diego , CA 92186-5122 US Phone: (619) 553-8421 Fax: (619) 524-9888 E-mail: garland@nhrc.navy.mil Cedric Garland University of California San Diego Family and Preventive Medicine 9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0631C La Jolla , CA 92093 US Phone: (858) 534-0520 Fax: (619) 553-8459 E-mail: cgarland@ucsd.edu William Grant Sunlight, Nutrition And Heath Research Center 2107 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 403B San Francisco , CA 94109-2529 US Phone: 1-415-776-5274 E-mail: wbgrant@infionline.net Robyn Highfill-McRoy Naval Health Research Center Research code 24 P.O. Box 85122 San Diego , CA 92186-5122 US Phone: (619) 553-3535 E-mail: highfill@nhrc.navy.mil |
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