Evidence of protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in reducing COVID-19 deaths Moozhipurath, Rahul Kalippurayil, Kraft, Lennart and Skiera, Bernd 2020, Evidence of protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in reducing COVID-19 deaths, Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-10, doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-74825-z. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Evidence of protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in reducing COVID-19 deaths Author(s) Moozhipurath, Rahul Kalippurayil Kraft, Lennart Skiera, Bernd orcid.org/0000-0001-9285-2013 Journal name Scientific Reports Volume number 10 Issue number 1 Article ID 17705 Start page 1 End page 10 Total pages 10 Publisher Springer Place of publication Berlin, Germany Publication date 2020 ISSN 2045-2322 Summary AbstractPrior studies indicate the protective role of Ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation in human health, mediated by vitamin D synthesis. In this observational study, we empirically outline a negative association of UVB radiation as measured by ultraviolet index (UVI) with the number of COVID-19 deaths. We apply a fixed-effect log-linear regression model to a panel dataset of 152 countries over 108 days (n = 6524). We use the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths and case-fatality rate (CFR) as the main dependent variables and isolate the UVI effect from potential confounding factors. After controlling for time-constant and time-varying factors, we find that a permanent unit increase in UVI is associated with a 1.2 percentage points decline in daily growth rates of cumulative COVID-19 deaths [p < 0.01] and a 1.0 percentage points decline in the CFR daily growth rate [p < 0.05]. These results represent a significant percentage reduction in terms of daily growth rates of cumulative COVID-19 deaths (− 12%) and CFR (− 38%). We find a significant negative association between UVI and COVID-19 deaths, indicating evidence of the protective role of UVB in mitigating COVID-19 deaths. If confirmed via clinical studies, then the possibility of mitigating COVID-19 deaths via sensible sunlight exposure or vitamin D intervention would be very attractive. Language eng DOI 10.1038/s41598-020-74825-z Indigenous content off HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal ERA Research output type C Journal article Free to Read? Yes Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30144682 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Business and Law Open Access Collection Department of Marketing Related Links Link Description Link to full-text (open access)     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au. Versions Version Filter Type Fri, 30 Oct 2020, 07:07:36 EST Fri, 30 Oct 2020, 11:22:04 EST Sat, 31 Oct 2020, 04:00:37 EST Sat, 31 Oct 2020, 05:04:25 EST Mon, 02 Nov 2020, 13:11:26 EST Mon, 02 Nov 2020, 13:12:54 EST Mon, 02 Nov 2020, 14:16:23 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 0 times in TR Web of Science Cited 5 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 54 Abstract Views, 0 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Fri, 30 Oct 2020, 11:22:04 EST

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