[PennsylvaniaMom]

As an interesting aside, one of the groups with the highest occurance of Lupus is African American women (who could be low in vit. D to begin with). I an Caucasian (very fair) and when Lupus is suspected, one of the first things the pt. is told is to avoid sun exposure (not just on the face to avoid the 'butterfly' rash) but to use a strong SPF on all exposed areas and avoid the sun. Which, using the theory that autoimmune problems can result from low vit. D levels begins a downward spiral where the popular advice could actually be exaggerating the symptoms. I hope more research in done on this...it sounds promising.

[webstersII]

“highest occurance of Lupus is African American women “

The higher the rate of skin pigmentation, the lower the absorption of UVB from the sun, which makes Vitamin D in the body.

So that would correspond to you statistic about Lupus in African-American women.

[kalee]

I am a Caucasian woman with lupus. At diagnosis I was warned against sun exposure. I have recently been told I have a severe vitamin D deficiency so have been put on a mega dose for 3 months. I wonder if it will offer any protection against the flu? I see the doctor tomorrow and will take this with me and ask.