Skin pigmentation, sun exposure and vitamin D levels in children of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
Carolina Bonilla,Andy R Ness,Andrew K Wills,Debbie A Lawlor,Sarah J Lewis,George Davey Smith +5 more
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TLDR
In this population taking protective measures against sunburn and skin cancer does not seem to remove the positive effect that having a less pigmented skin has on vitamin D production, as skin pigmentation showed only a small effect on circulating 25(OH)D.Abstract:
It has been hypothesised that light skin pigmentation has arisen to ensure adequate levels of vitamin D as human populations moved out of Africa and into higher latitudes. Vitamin D, which is primarily obtained through exposure to sunlight (specifically ultraviolet radiation B (UVR-B)), has been inversely associated with several complex diseases. Greater sun exposure, on the other hand, is a well-known cause of skin cancer. The potential of UVR to be beneficial for some health outcomes but detrimental for others has prompted a public health debate on how to balance the positive and negative consequences of sun exposure. In this study we aimed to determine the validity of the evolutionary hypothesis linking lighter skin with higher vitamin D concentrations in a European population. Additionally, we aimed to examine the influence of pigmentation on personal behaviour towards sunlight exposure and the effects of this behaviour on vitamin D. We combined genetic variants strongly associated with skin colour, tanning or freckling to create genetic scores for each of these phenotypes. We examined the association of the scores with pigmentary traits, sun exposure and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels among children of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, N = 661 to 5649). We found that fairer-skinned children, i.e. those with higher pigmentation score values, had higher levels of 25(OH)D (0.6 nmol/l; 95% CI 0.2, 1.0; per unit increase in skin colour score; N = 5649). These children also used more protection against the damaging effects of UVR. In this population taking protective measures against sunburn and skin cancer does not seem to remove the positive effect that having a less pigmented skin has on vitamin D production. Our findings require further replication as skin pigmentation showed only a small effect on circulating 25(OH)D.read more
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Association of maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy with bone-mineral content in offspring: a prospective cohort study
TL;DR: It is found that there is no relevant association between maternal vitamin D status in pregnancy and offspring BMC in late childhood.
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Influence of ethnicity on population reference values for biochemical markers.
TL;DR: Significant differences between ethnic groups were reported by one or more studies for most of the biomarkers included in this review and the clinical significance and the potential need for ethnic-specific RIs for certain biochemical markers are discussed.
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Melanin has a small inhibitory effect on cutaneous vitamin D synthesis: a comparison of extreme phenotypes
Antony R. Young,Kylie A. Morgan,Tak-Wai Ho,Ngozi Ojimba,Graham I. Harrison,Karl P. Lawrence,Nihull Jakharia-Shah,Hans Christian Wulf,J. Kennedy Cruickshank,Peter A. Philipsen +9 more
TL;DR: The inhibitory effect of melanin on vitamin D3 synthesis is small, compared to erythema, but that this difference may be sufficient to explain the epidemiological data.
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Factors influencing the higher incidence of tuberculosis among migrants and ethnic minorities in the UK.
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References
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Principal components analysis corrects for stratification in genome-wide association studies
Alkes L. Price,Alkes L. Price,Nick Patterson,Robert M. Plenge,Robert M. Plenge,Michael E. Weinblatt,Nancy A. Shadick,David Reich,David Reich +8 more
TL;DR: This work describes a method that enables explicit detection and correction of population stratification on a genome-wide scale and uses principal components analysis to explicitly model ancestry differences between cases and controls.
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Cohort Profile: The ‘Children of the 90s’—the index offspring of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
Andy Boyd,Jean Golding,John Macleod,Debbie A Lawlor,Abigail Fraser,John Henderson,Lynn Molloy,Andy R Ness,Susan M. Ring,George Davey Smith +9 more
TL;DR: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a transgenerational prospective observational study investigating influences on health and development across the life course and is currently set up as a supported access resource.
Journal ArticleDOI
Cohort Profile: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: ALSPAC mothers cohort
Abigail Fraser,Corrie Macdonald-Wallis,Kate Tilling,Andy Boyd,Jean Golding,George Davey Smith,John Henderson,John Macleod,Lynn Molloy,Andy R Ness,S M Ring,Scott M. Nelson,Debbie A Lawlor +12 more
TL;DR: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) was established to understand how genetic and environmental characteristics influence health and development in parents and children.
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The evolution of human skin coloration.
Nina G. Jablonski,George Chaplin +1 more
TL;DR: The highest correlation between skin reflectance and UV levels was observed at 545 nm, suggesting that the main role of melanin pigmentation in humans is regulation of the effects of UV radiation on the contents of cutaneous blood vessels located in the dermis.
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Human skin pigmentation: melanocytes modulate skin color in response to stress
TL;DR: This review provides an updated overview of important physiological and biological factors that increase pigmentation and the mechanisms by which they do so and considers endo‐crine factors that induce temporary or permanent changes in skin color.