Observational studyScientific reports2020
Evidence of protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in reducing COVID-19 deaths.
Observational study in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of geo-environmental factors on global COVID-19 transmission: A review of evidence and methodology.The Science of the total environment · 2022Pooled it
- Systemic effects of sunlight: 10-year review of cardiovascular, infection and cancer outcomes.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2026Review
- Comparing lagged impacts of mobility changes and environmental factors on COVID-19 waves in rural and urban India: A Bayesian spatiotemporal modelling study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Assessing eco-geographic influences on COVID-19 transmission: a global analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Review
- A mixture of mobility and meteorological data provides a high correlation with COVID-19 growth in an infection-naive population: a study for Spanish provinces.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Linkages between COVID-19, solar UV radiation, and the Montreal Protocol.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2023Article
- Moderate Low UVB Irradiation Modulates Tumor-associated Macrophages and Dendritic Cells and Promotes Antitumor Immunity in Tumor-bearing Mice.Photochemistry and photobiology · 2023Article
- COVID-19 and Vitamin D- a Systematic Review.Zdravstveno varstvo · 2022Article
- Associations between predicted vitamin D status, vitamin D intake, and risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2022Article
- Environmental effects of stratospheric ozone depletion, UV radiation, and interactions with climate change: UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, Update 2021.Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology · 2022Article
- Association of lockdowns with the protective role of ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in reducing COVID-19 deaths.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Solar simulated ultraviolet radiation inactivates HCoV-NL63 and SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses at environmentally relevant doses.Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. B, Biology · 2021Article
- Article
- Role of meteorological factors in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Vitamin D in the Covid-19 era: a review with recommendations from a G.I.O.S.E.G. expert panel.Endocrine · 2021Review
- Article
- Possible Roles of Permafrost Melting, Atmospheric Transport, and Solar Irradiance in the Development of Major Coronavirus and Influenza Pandemics.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- A novel methodology for epidemic risk assessment of COVID-19 outbreak.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Implications of monsoon season and UVB radiation for COVID-19 in India.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Prior studies indicate the protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in human health, mediated by vitamin D synthesis. In this observational study, we empirically outline a negative association of UVB radiation as measured by ultraviolet index (UVI) with the number of COVID-19 deaths. We apply a fixed-effect log-linear regression model to a panel dataset of 152 countries over 108 days (n = 6524). We use the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths and case-fatality rate (CFR) as the main dependent variables and isolate the UVI effect from potential confounding factors. After controlling for time-constant and time-varying factors, we find that a permanent unit increase in UVI is associated with a 1.2 percentage points decline in daily growth rates of cumulative COVID-19 deaths [p < 0.01] and a 1.0 percentage points decline in the CFR daily growth rate [p < 0.05]. These results represent a significant percentage reduction in terms of daily growth rates of cumulative COVID-19 deaths (- 12%) and CFR (- 38%). We find a significant negative association between UVI and COVID-19 deaths, indicating evidence of the protective role of UVB in mitigating COVID-19 deaths. If confirmed via clinical studies, then the possibility of mitigating COVID-19 deaths via sensible sunlight exposure or vitamin D intervention would be very attractive.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.