title: Prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in Dutch psychogeriatric nursing home residents by weekly half-body UVB exposure after showering: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  in older people, induction of cutaneous vitamin D production by ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure may be preferable to oral supplementation: it cannot cause toxic levels, it helps to prevent polypharmacy and, moreover, there are indications that UVB exposure has beneficial effects on health and well being by mechanisms other than the vitamin D pathway alone.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  the aim of this pilot study is to investigate whether weekly, half-body, UVB irradiation after showering can increase serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) to sufficient levels, in a Dutch psychogeriatric nursing home population.
  
  
  METHODS
  subjects were eight psychogeriatric nursing home patients, mean age: 79 ± 8. Exclusion criteria were going outdoors into the sun more than once a week, the presence of actinic or cancer skin lesions and known resistance to body contact. The intervention consisted of weekly half-body UVB irradiation, after showering, over 8 weeks, with 0.5 minimal erythemal dose (MED). Main outcome measures were change in fasting serum levels of 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) at 0, 2, 4 and 8 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  at baseline, mean serum 25(OH)D was 28.5 nmol/l. Mean serum 25(OH)D levels increased to 46.5 nmol/l. Median serum PTH levels decreased by 20% after 8 weeks of treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  an 8 week course of weekly, frontal half-body irradiation with UVB, at 0.5 MED, leads to an significant increase in 25(OH)D serum levels, but this period is too short to reach vitamin D sufficiency.
authors.affiliation: Topaz location Overduin Katwijk, Katwijk, The Netherlands. v.chel@topaz.nl
authors.forename: V G M
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Chel
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ooms
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pavel
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Gruijl
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lips
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D017619:Hemibody Irradiation; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014467:Ultraviolet Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000532:radiotherapy*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C470125:PTH protein, human; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D