3 ms·

Hmm, could this relationship also somewhat explain the bigger incidence of respiratory viruses during winter, when sun shines less, and we produce less vitamin

• MichaelZuo 6y ago
  This is a possibility. Or at least it is a plausible mechanism of action for higher susceptibility. If true we should expect seasonal variance in prevalence to decrease as you move towards the equator.
  • gridlockd 6y ago
    There is in fact data that shows this correlation, I may post a source later.
    • londons_explore 6y ago
      It still isn't a strong indicator of causation, since nearly all seasonal climatic effects diminish towards the equator.
• hyko 6y ago
  It could do, but there are other known effects at work (such as temperature and humidity) that are known to contribute, and that would also be correlated with vitamin D levels. You’d need to do a study to tease out the causality and the relative contribution of all those factors (if one hasn’t been done already). Edited to add: this looks like a reasonable review of the literature: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-virology-012420-022445 https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-virolo...
• strogonoff 6y ago
  I believe the factors are alleged to be many, including dry air in heated rooms which irritates nasal passages, many people often huddled indoors which contributes to infection spread, and so on. Cold temperatures are, of course, involved in all of those, but very tangentially. (Unless one persistently lives in poor heating conditions, which combined with cold outside would likely take a toll on one’s immune system—from my, non-doctor’s, understanding.)