Low Vitamin D Levels Increase Risk Of Pancreatic Cancer

People who live in cloudy areas where there is relatively little sunlight may have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer because they are not receiving a sufficient amount of vitamin D, according to recent findings published in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

"If you're living at a high latitude or in a place with a lot of heavy cloud cover, you can't make vitamin D most of the year, which results in a higher-than-normal risk of getting pancreatic cancer," said first author Cedric F. Garland, DrPH, adjunct professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health and member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, in a news release. He is an adjunct professor with the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine's Department of Family Medicine and Public Health.

"People who live in sunny countries near the equator have only one-sixth of the age-adjusted incidence rate of pancreatic cancer as those who live far from it," Garland added. "The importance of sunlight deficiency strongly suggests - but does not prove - that vitamin D deficiency may contribute to risk of pancreatic cancer."

Of course, vitamin D doesn't just come from sunlight. You can get it from certain foods, too, including cheese, a number of fatty fishes, milk, some juices, etc. And there are also supplements that can help out as well. However, direct outdoor exposure to the sun is an easy way to boost the body's overall production of vitamin D and a bit more natural, as well.

For the study, researchers linked higher vitamin D levels to lower concentrations of breast and colorectal cancer. They also reported a similar connection to pancreatic cancer.

After examining information on over 100 countries, they found that the adjustment of outcomes were also done in an order that was not thrown off by other risk factors including smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity.

 "While these other factors also contribute to risk, the strong inverse association with cloud-cover adjusted sunlight persisted even after they were accounted for," concluded Garland.