The health benefits of increased exposure to sunlight and vacations may explain why fewer people in northern countries die in late summer and early fall, according to a new study.
American and Greek researchers found that death rates are lowest in August in North America and Sweden, in September in the Mediterranean, and in March in Australia, CBC News reported.
The link between these times of the year and lower death rates may be due to the physiological effect of increased vitamin D production by the body due to sun exposure, coupled with the stress-lowering benefits of vacation, the study authors suggested.
Vitamin D “may have beneficial effects for cardiovascular disease, renal failure, certain malignant diseases, autoimmune disorders and infections, including influenza,” wrote Dr. Matthew Falagas, of the Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences in Greece, and his colleagues, CBC News reported.