The Hype Around Photobiomodulation

Re:The Hype Around Photobiomodulation by streaming on Sunday August 04, 2024 @12:13PM (#41154439)

It's always healthy to be skeptical, but we know that on the whole, sunlight is healthy for humans. People who get more sun exposure live longer (even though they have a higher incidence of melanoma). We know that it's more than just the Vitamin D that is produce when our skin is exposed to sun. There are numerous studies showing the benefits of sunshine, so the next question is "what is the mechanism for sunshine to improve human health?". One theory is that it stimulates the production of intra-cellular melatonin. A seminal paper on this topic is "Melatonin and the Optics of the Human Body".... http://sininenankka.dy.fi/~sami/kielletyt_uutiset/melatonin_...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hype Around Photobiomodulation by lambdaba on Sunday August 04, 2024 @12:53PM (#41154772)

Heliotherapy is an ancient practice!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hype Around Photobiomodulation by valenterry on Sunday August 04, 2024 @01:13PM (#41154918)

I don't think it's so easy

> People who get more sun exposure live longer

Yes, but that's not a causation yet, that's a correlation. Most likely healthy people go outside more than sick people and thus get more sun exposure.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hype Around Photobiomodulation by sooheon on Sunday August 04, 2024 @02:09PM (#41155291)

> Most likely healthy people go outside more than sick people and thus get more sun exposure

Such a lazy critique.

Here's the actual study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joim.12251

Number of subjects: 39,973

Follow up period: 20 years

Some factors controlled for: smoking, history of antidiabetic meds, history of CVD meds, weight/height/BMI, level of exercise, income, alcohol consumption, N pregnancies.

I think these factors pretty well correlate with "health" (however you'd measure actually that).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hype Around Photobiomodulation by valenterry on Monday August 05, 2024 @06:26PM (#41166189)

That's what the authors say:

> Despite having adjusted for several potential confounders, the major shortcoming of this study is the inability to distinguish between the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle and of avoidance of sun exposure.

Take depression for example. None of the factors you mentioned would control for it and depression is often not diagnosed, especially early on.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hype Around Photobiomodulation by normie3000 on Sunday August 04, 2024 @02:13PM (#41155314)

And I'd guess smokers go outside more than non-smokers.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hype Around Photobiomodulation by sooheon on Sunday August 04, 2024 @02:21PM (#41155353)

Surprise, the study designers did happen to also think to control for smoking.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hype Around Photobiomodulation by normie3000 on Monday August 05, 2024 @02:58AM (#41158732)

Agreed, and you already addressed this with your sibling comment. I just thought it was an amusing counterpoint to "healthy people go outside more than sick people".

[ Parent | on HN ]