Findings showed that 94 percent of women had higher chances of having breast cancer if they lacked sufficient exposure to sunshine. But getting Vitamin D is linked with geography. In cold countries like Canada, the strong ultraviolet rays from the sun is only available on certain months.
The findings validate another U.S. research at the University of California, published in the Breast Journal, that established a connection between breast cancer and intensity of ultraviolet sunlight received by women.
Women from high-latitude countries like Iceland, the U.K. and Norway had higher rates of breast cancer compared to women from nations close to equator such as Qatar, Venezuela and Portugal.
Frank Garland, one of the authors of the California study and a university professor, said, quoted by the Globe and Mail,"If it is a vitamin D-mediated cancer, you will see this pattern."
One exception to the pattern is Australia, where its women had high breast cancer incidents even if the country is quite near the equator. Garland said the high breast cancer rate may be due to a conscious effort of Australian women to avoid the sun for fear of acquiring skin cancer.
For women residing in areas far from the sun, Dr. Pamela Goodwin, head of the Mount Sinai study, recommended taking a vitamin D supplement with a dosage of 600 yo 800 units a day.
