ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Association between Ultraviolet B Exposure Levels and Depression in Taiwanese Adults: A Nested Case-Control Study.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Shared genetic architecture and pathways linking major depressive disorder and autoimmune thyroid disease: insights from common and rare variants.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Predicting Workers' Stress: Application of a High-Performance Algorithm Using Working-Style Characteristics.JMIR AI · 2024Article
- Organic Synthesis of New Secosteroids from Fucosterol, Its Intestinal Absorption by Caco-2 Cells, and Simulation of the Biological Activities of Vitamin D.Marine drugs · 2023Article
- Skin Cancer Prevention across the G7, Australia and New Zealand: A Review of Legislation and Guidelines.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Review
- Association Between Sunlight Exposure and Mental Health: Evidence from a Special Population Without Sunlight in Work.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2023Article
- The Association between Self-Rated Health Status, Psychosocial Stress, Eating Behaviors, and Food Intake According to the Level of Sunlight Exposure in Korean Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Comparing the Evidence from Observational Studies and Randomized Controlled Trials for Nonskeletal Health Effects of Vitamin D.Nutrients · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Depression is a common mental disorder that affects more than 264 million people worldwide. Anxiety, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, myocardial infarction, and cancer, among other disorders, are known to increase the risk of depression. Exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) can cause human serotonin levels to increase. The vitamin D pathway is one mechanism through which ultraviolet light absorbed through the skin can affect mood; however, UVB exposure is known to increase the risk of cancer. In this study, we explored the effects of prolonged exposure to UVB on depression. Data were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for 2008 to 2013. Each patient with depression was matched 1:4 with a comparison patient by sex and age (±5 years); thus, the study included 23,579 patients with depression and 94,316 healthy controls for comparison. The patients had been exposed to UVB for at least 1 year to observe the cumulative effect of UVB exposure. Based on the World Health Organization UV index, we divided the observation period data into five UV levels: low, moderate, high, very high, and extreme. A multivariate Poisson regression model was used to assess the risk of depression according to UVB exposure level, adjusting for sex, age, income, urbanization level, month, and comorbidities. The results revealed that the incidence rate ratio (IRR) for patients with depression was 0.889 for moderate levels (95% CI 0.835-0.947), 1.134 for high levels (95% CI: 1.022-1.260), 1.711 for very high levels (95% CI: 1.505-1.945), and 2.785 for extreme levels (95% CI: 2.439-3.180) when compared to low levels. Moderate levels of UVB lowered the risk of depression, while high levels of UVB gradually increased the risk. We propose that UVB at normal concentrations can effectively improve depression. However, exposure to high concentrations of UVB damage DNA results in physical diseases such as skin cancer, which increase the risk of depression.
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