Comparative Study of Healthy Older and Younger Adults Shows They Have the Same Skin Concentration of Vitamin D3 Precursor, 7-Dehydrocholesterol, and Similar Response to UVR

Borecka, Oktawia; Dutton, John J.; Tang, Jonathan C. Y.; Fraser, William D.; Webb, Ann R.; Rhodes, Lesley E.

doi:10.3390/nu16081147

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Comparative Study of Healthy Older and Younger Adults Shows They Have the Same Skin Concentration of Vitamin D₃ Precursor, 7-Dehydrocholesterol, and Similar Response to UVR

by

Oktawia Borecka

^1,2,3

,

John J. Dutton

⁴,

Jonathan C. Y. Tang

^4,5

,

William D. Fraser

^4,5,

Ann R. Webb

¹

and

Lesley E. Rhodes

^2,3,*

¹

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

²

Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

³

Photobiology Unit, Dermatology Research Centre, Salford Royal Hospital, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Greater Manchester M6 8HD, UK

⁴

Bioanalytical Facility, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK

⁵

Departments of Clinical Biochemistry and Endocrinology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich NR4 7UY, UK

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nutrients 2024, 16(8), 1147; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16081147

Submission received: 8 February 2024 / Revised: 5 April 2024 / Accepted: 11 April 2024 / Published: 12 April 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calcium, Vitamin D and Aging in Humans)

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Abstract

Vitamin D₃ synthesis in human skin is initiated by solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure of precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol (7DHC), but influence of age on the early stage of vitamin D₃ metabolism is uncertain. We performed a prospective standardised study in healthy ambulant adults aged ≥65 and ≤40 years examining (1) if baseline skin 7DHC concentration differs between younger and older adults and (2) the impact of older age on serum vitamin D₃ response to solar simulated UVR. Eleven younger (18–40 years) and 10 older (65–89 years) adults, phototype I–III, received low-dose UVR (95% UVA, 5% UVB, 1.3 SED) to ~35% of the body surface area. Biopsies were taken for 7DHC assay from unexposed skin, skin immediately and 24 h post-UVR, and blood sampled at baseline, 24 h and 7 d post-UVR for vitamin D₃ assay. Samples were analysed by HPLC-MS/MS. Baseline skin 7DHC (mean ± SD) was 0.22 ± 0.07 and 0.25 ± 0.08 µg/mg in younger versus older adults (no significant difference). Baseline serum vitamin D₃ concentration was 1.5 ± 1.5 and 1.5 ± 1.7 nmol/L in younger versus older adults, respectively, and showed a significant increase in both groups post-UVR (no significant differences between age groups). Thus, skin 7DHC concentration was not a limiting factor for vitamin D₃ production in older relative to younger adults. This information assists public health guidance on sun exposure/vitamin D nutrition, with particular relevance to the growing populations of healthy ambulant adults ≥65 years.

Keywords: skin; 7-dehydrocholesterol; vitamin D; photobiology; ultraviolet radiation; elderly

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MDPI and ACS Style

Borecka, O.; Dutton, J.J.; Tang, J.C.Y.; Fraser, W.D.; Webb, A.R.; Rhodes, L.E. Comparative Study of Healthy Older and Younger Adults Shows They Have the Same Skin Concentration of Vitamin D₃ Precursor, 7-Dehydrocholesterol, and Similar Response to UVR. Nutrients 2024, 16, 1147. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16081147

AMA Style

Borecka O, Dutton JJ, Tang JCY, Fraser WD, Webb AR, Rhodes LE. Comparative Study of Healthy Older and Younger Adults Shows They Have the Same Skin Concentration of Vitamin D₃ Precursor, 7-Dehydrocholesterol, and Similar Response to UVR. Nutrients. 2024; 16(8):1147. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16081147

Chicago/Turabian Style

Borecka, Oktawia, John J. Dutton, Jonathan C. Y. Tang, William D. Fraser, Ann R. Webb, and Lesley E. Rhodes. 2024. "Comparative Study of Healthy Older and Younger Adults Shows They Have the Same Skin Concentration of Vitamin D₃ Precursor, 7-Dehydrocholesterol, and Similar Response to UVR" Nutrients 16, no. 8: 1147. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16081147

APA Style

Borecka, O., Dutton, J. J., Tang, J. C. Y., Fraser, W. D., Webb, A. R., & Rhodes, L. E. (2024). Comparative Study of Healthy Older and Younger Adults Shows They Have the Same Skin Concentration of Vitamin D₃ Precursor, 7-Dehydrocholesterol, and Similar Response to UVR. Nutrients, 16(8), 1147. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16081147

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Comparative Study of Healthy Older and Younger Adults Shows They Have the Same Skin Concentration of Vitamin D₃ Precursor, 7-Dehydrocholesterol, and Similar Response to UVR

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