Prevalence of allergy and deficiency of vitamin D has increased in the last few years. This phenomenon happens in almost in every part of the world.
“Children with risk factor of allergy (atopy) tend to have low vitamin D level,” said dr. Sri Wahyu Herlinawati, Sp.A., M.Kes., in her doctoral promotion at Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing UGM on Thursday (25/10).
The lecturer from Yarsi University said in a number of research done in the past few years an increase in allergies had been reported. This was linked to the low vitamin D level because many people stayed inside a building that made them lacking of sunshine exposure as well as low production of vitamin D in the skin.
The little exposure to sunshines is the main cause of vitamin D deficiency. Around 80% of it in the human body came from pre-vitamin D that is produced in the skin that is induced by UV B rays.
Herlinawati did the research to know the effect of sunshine exposure to vitamin D level. She also wanted to know the effect of vitamin D of sunshine exposure to total IL4 and IgE levels in children with risk factor of allergy or atopy.
The research showed treatment of sunshine exposure to children with atopy would increase the vitamin D level significantly. Meanwhile, increase of vitamin D level from sunshine exposure does not significantly affect the total IL4 and IgE levels in children with atopy.