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Background: Previous research has suggested that vitamin D and sunlight are related to cardiovascular outcomes, but associations between sunlight and risk factors have not been investigated. We examined whether increased sunlight exposure was related to improved cardiovascular risk factor status., Methods: Residential histories merged with satellite, ground monitor, and model reanalysis data were used to determine previous-year sunlight radiation exposure for 17,773 black and white participants aged 45+ from the US. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses were performed by randomly dividing the sample into halves. Logistic regression models were used to examine relationships with cardiovascular risk factors., Results: The lowest, compared to the highest quartile of insolation exposure was associated with lower high-density lipoprotein levels in adjusted exploratory (-2.7 mg/dL [95% confidence interval: -4.2, -1.2]) and confirmatory (-1.5 mg/dL [95% confidence interval: -3.0, -0.1]) models. The lowest, compared to the highest quartile of insolation exposure was associated with higher systolic blood pressure levels in unadjusted exploratory and confirmatory, as well as the adjusted exploratory model (2.3 mmHg [95% confidence interval: 0.8, 3.8]), but not the adjusted confirmatory model (1.6 mg/dL [95% confidence interval: -0.5, 3.7])., Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that lower long-term sunlight exposure has an association with lower high-density lipoprotein levels. However, all associations were weak, thus it is not known if insolation may affect cardiovascular outcomes through these risk factors.

Sunlight may be related to cognitive function through vitamin D metabolism or circadian rhythm regulation. The analysis presented here sought to test whether ground and satellite measures of solar radiation are associated with cognitive decline. The study used a 15-year residential history merged with satellite and ground monitor data to determine sunlight (solar radiation) and air temperature exposure for a cohort of 19,896 cognitively intact black and white participants aged 45+ from the 48 contiguous United States. Exposures of 15, 10, 5, 2, and 1-year were used to predict cognitive status at the most recent assessment in logistic regression models; 1-year insolation and maximum temperatures were chosen as exposure measures. Solar radiation interacted with temperature, age, and gender in its relationships with incident cognitive impairment. After adjustment for covariates, the odds ratio (OR) of cognitive decline for solar radiation exposure below the median vs above the median in the 3rd tertile of maximum temperatures was 1.88 (95 % CI: 1.24, 2.85), that in the 2nd tertile was 1.33 (95 % CI: 1.09, 1.62), and that in the 1st tertile was 1.22 (95 % CI: 0.92, 1.60). We also found that participants under 60 years old had an OR = 1.63 (95 % CI: 1.20, 2.22), those 60-80 years old had an OR = 1.18 (95 % CI: 1.02, 1.36), and those over 80 years old had an OR = 1.05 (0.80, 1.37). Lastly, we found that males had an OR = 1.43 (95 % CI: 1.22, 1.69), and females had an OR = 1.02 (0.87, 1.20). We found that lower levels of solar radiation were associated with increased odds of incident cognitive impairment.

Objective: Examine whether long- and short-term sunlight radiation is related to stroke incidence., Methods: Fifteen-year residential histories merged with satellite, ground monitor, and model reanalysis data were used to determine sunlight radiation (insolation) and temperature exposure for a cohort of 16,606 stroke and coronary artery disease-free black and white participants aged ≥45 years from the 48 contiguous United States. Fifteen-, 10-, 5-, 2-, and 1-year exposures were used to predict stroke incidence during follow-up in Cox proportional hazard models. Potential confounders and mediators were included during model building., Results: Shorter exposure periods exhibited similar, but slightly stronger relationships than longer exposure periods. After adjustment for other covariates, the previous year's monthly average insolation exposure below the median gave a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.61 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-2.26), and the previous year's highest compared to the second highest quartile of monthly average maximum temperature exposure gave an HR of 1.92 (95%, 1.27-2.92)., Interpretation: These results indicate a relationship between lower levels of sunlight radiation and higher stroke incidence. The biological pathway of this relationship is not clear. Future research will show whether this finding stands, the pathway for this relationship, and whether it is due to short- or long-term exposures., (Copyright © 2012 American Neurological Association.)

This ecological study aimed to assess the association between long-term exposures to outdoor environmental factors and mortality rate from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a diverse and spatially distributed population from 3,094 counties within the U.S. (n > 3,780,000 CVD deaths) using satellite-derived data of PM2.5 concentrations, sunlight, and maximum heat index. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether PM2.5, sunlight and maximum heat index were related to the odds of the total CVD death rate based on gender, race, and age taking into consideration the confounding risk factors of diabetes, obesity, leisure- time physical inactivity, smoking and socioeconomic status. The study has shown that elevated levels of PM2.5, sunlight and heat long-term exposures are significantly associated with an increase in the odds ratio of the total CVD mortality. The results suggest a 9.8% (95% CI = 6.3% - 13.4%), 0.9% (95% CI = 0.5% - 1.2%), and 0.7% (95% CI = 0.5% - 11.2%) increase in total CVD mortality associated with 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentrations, 1,000 kJ/m2 increases in sunlight, and 1 oF increase in heat index, respectively. The odds ratios for the CVD death rate due to long-term exposures of PM2.5, sunlight, and heat index were significantly greater than 1.0 for all categories except for Asians, Hispanics, and American Indians, indicating that the effect of long-term exposures to particulate matter, sunlight radiation, and maximum heat on CVD mortality is trivial for Asians, Hispanics, and American Indians. Among the categories of age, the group of 65 years and older had the highest odds ratios, suggesting that the age group of 65 years and older are the most vulnerable group to the environmental exposures of PM2.5 (OR = 1.179, 95% CI = 1.124 - 1.237), sunlight (OR = 1.047, 95% CI = 1.041 - 1.053), and maximum heat (OR = 1.014, 95% CI = 1.011 - 1.016). The odds ratios of CVD mortality due to the environmental exposures were higher for Blacks than those for Whites. The odds ratios for all categories were attenuated with the inclusion of diabetes, obesity, leisure-time physical inactivity, smoking, and income covariates, reflecting the effect of other medical conditions, lifestyle, behavioral and socioeconomic factors on the CVD death rate besides the environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]