Another study found that increased sun exposure in children and young adults is linked to lower levels of multiple sclerosis. This was the main finding of a study conducted at multiple centers in the United States by a team of American and Australian researchers.
The researchers in the study stated that not only does sunlight boost vitamin D levels, it also "...stimulates immune cells in the skin that have a protective role in diseases such as multiple sclerosis." In addition, they found an association with the intensity of sunlight and estimated that residents of Florida would be 21 percent less likely than residents of New York to have multiple sclerosis. Sun exposure appears to be dose dependent - the longer the exposure, the lower the risk of multiple sclerosis.
Earlier studies also found immune boosting properties of sunlight. Sunlight has low levels of "blue light" which energizes T cells that play a central role in human immunity. T cells are a type of white blood cell, are part of the immune system, and help protect the body from infection and cellular abnormalities (cancer).
Bottom line: In this study getting at least 30 minutes (up to 1 hour) of sunshine daily, especially in the summer, seems to be key in terms of protective effects.
From Medical Xpress: Sunshine may shield children, young adults from MS
Living in sunny locations and spending time outdoors may raise the risk for skin cancer, but a new study led by UC San Francisco and the Australian National University shows that in children and young adults, sun exposure may protect against multiple sclerosis. The study follows previous work by other researchers that has demonstrated an association between increased ultraviolet exposure in childhood and lower odds of adult MS.
The study included 332 participants aged between 3 to 22, who had had MS for an average of seven months. Their locations and amount of sun exposure were matched by age and sex to 534 participants without MS, the researchers reported in their study, which publishes in the online issue of Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, on Dec. 8, 2021.
In questionnaires filled in by participants with MS or their parents, 19 percent stated that they spent less than 30 minutes daily outdoors during the previous summer, compared to 6 percent of those who did not have MS. When the researchers adjusted for MS risks, like smoking and female sex, they found that the participants who spent an average of 30 minutes to one hour outdoors daily had a 52 percent lower chance of MS, compared to those who spent an average of less than 30 minutes outdoors daily.
While MS usually strikes adults between the ages of 20 to 50, some 3 to 5 percent of the approximately one million patients in the United States with the condition begin experiencing symptoms in childhood. Pediatric-onset MS is initially highly inflammatory, but takes longer than adults to advance, with symptoms of secondary progression, such as moderate to severe weakness, poor coordination and bowel and bladder control, occurring on average 28 years after disease onset, according to experts. However, these disability landmarks are reached approximately 10 years earlier than in adult MS.
The researchers also found an association with the intensity of sunlight and estimated that residents of Florida would be 21 percent less likely than residents of New York to have MS. They noted that sun exposure was "dose-dependent," the longer the exposure the lower the risk. And even exposure in the first year of life seemed to protect against MS, they said.
Limited sun exposure and/or low levels of vitamin D have been associated with other conditions. These include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, as well as schizophrenia and other auto-immune diseases like Type 1 diabetes, Crohn's disease and lupus.