The effect of ultraviolet B-induced vitamin D levels on host resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a pilot study in immigrant Asian adults living in the United Kingdom.

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Abstract

Asian immigrants to the United Kingdom demonstrate much higher tuberculosis rates than the indigenous population. This is postulated to be because of their low vitamin D levels, consequent upon a combination of diet and their reduced ultraviolet (UV) exposure in the United Kingdom, because vitamin D enhances antimycobacterial activity in in vitro systems. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between UVB exposure, vitamin D levels and tuberculo-immunity in Asian immigrants in the United Kingdom. Suberythemal UVB treatments were given to eight subjects on 3 consecutive days, using broadband UVB fluorescent lamps. Blood was sampled for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) and whole blood functional assays were performed for antimycobacterial immunity. The mean 25-OH D level increased from a baseline of 11.23 ng/ml (95% CI 6.7-20.39) to 20.39 ng/ml (95% CI 16.6-20) following UVB treatment, P<0.01. However, no significant change in antimycobacterial immunity occurred following UVB exposure. This pilot study in Asian subjects with good baseline tuberculo-immunity has not supported a role for UVB-induced 25-OH D in the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Keyword(s)

Adult; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Emigration and Immigration; Female; Great Britain; Humans; Immunity, Natural; Male; Pilot Projects; Ultraviolet Rays; biosynthesis: Vitamin D; ethnology: Asia; immunology: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; immunology: Tuberculosis, Pulmonary; metabolism: Skin

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