ArticleInternational journal of biometeorology2014
The relationship between long-term sunlight radiation and cognitive decline in the REGARDS cohort study.
Article in International journal of biometeorology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acute lack of sunlight exposure is associated with poorer cognitive test performance: evidence from two national cohorts in the United Kingdom.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2026Article
- Association between solar radiation and mood disorders among Gulf Coast residents.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- Development and interpretation of a machine learning predictive model for early cognitive impairment in hypertension associated with environmental factors.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- The role of vitamin D in sleep regulation: mechanisms, clinical advances, and future directions.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- The role of caregiving in cognitive function and change: The REGARDS study.Psychology and aging · 2023Article
- Long-term residential sunlight exposure associated with cognitive function among adults residing in Finland.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- A 10-Year Review of Sunburn Injuries Presenting to the Manchester Adult and Paediatric Specialist Burn Services.European burn journal · 2022Article
- Article
- Association between temperature exposure and cognition: a cross-sectional analysis of 20,687 aging adults in the United States.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Weather Woes? Exploring Potential Links between Precipitation and Age-Related Cognitive Decline.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Vascular-brain Injury Progression after Stroke (VIPS) study: concept for understanding racial and geographic determinants of cognitive decline after stroke.Journal of the neurological sciences · 2020Review
- Fine Particulate Matter Pollution and Risk of Community-Acquired Sepsis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
- Effect of sun exposure on cognitive function among elderly individuals in Northeast China.Clinical interventions in aging · 2018Article
- Sunlight exposure and cardiovascular risk factors in the REGARDS study: a cross-sectional split-sample analysis.BMC neurology · 2014Article
- Plasma vitamin D levels and cognitive function in aging women: the nurses' health study.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2014Article
- Light-harvesting chlorophyll pigments enable mammalian mitochondria to capture photonic energy and produce ATP.Journal of cell science · 2014Article
- Solar radiation and the incidence and mortality of leading invasive cancers in the United States.Dermato-endocrinologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Sunlight may be related to cognitive function through vitamin D metabolism or circadian rhythm regulation. The analysis presented here sought to test whether ground and satellite measures of solar radiation are associated with cognitive decline. The study used a 15-year residential history merged with satellite and ground monitor data to determine sunlight (solar radiation) and air temperature exposure for a cohort of 19,896 cognitively intact black and white participants aged 45+ from the 48 contiguous United States. Exposures of 15, 10, 5, 2, and 1-year were used to predict cognitive status at the most recent assessment in logistic regression models; 1-year insolation and maximum temperatures were chosen as exposure measures. Solar radiation interacted with temperature, age, and gender in its relationships with incident cognitive impairment. After adjustment for covariates, the odds ratio (OR) of cognitive decline for solar radiation exposure below the median vs above the median in the 3rd tertile of maximum temperatures was 1.88 (95 % CI: 1.24, 2.85), that in the 2nd tertile was 1.33 (95 % CI: 1.09, 1.62), and that in the 1st tertile was 1.22 (95 % CI: 0.92, 1.60). We also found that participants under 60 years old had an OR = 1.63 (95 % CI: 1.20, 2.22), those 60-80 years old had an OR = 1.18 (95 % CI: 1.02, 1.36), and those over 80 years old had an OR = 1.05 (0.80, 1.37). Lastly, we found that males had an OR = 1.43 (95 % CI: 1.22, 1.69), and females had an OR = 1.02 (0.87, 1.20). We found that lower levels of solar radiation were associated with increased odds of incident cognitive impairment.
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Registered trials
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