Did Mozart die of a lack of sunlight?

Guardian ^ | August 22, 2011 | Marc Abrahams

[billorites]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has died a hundred deaths, more or less. Here's a new one: darkness.

Doctors over the years have resurrected the story of Mozart's death again and again, each time proposing some alternative horrifying medical reason why the 18th century's most celebrated and prolific composer keeled over at age 35. A new monograph suggests that Mozart died from too little sunlight.

The researchers give us a simple theory. When exposed to sunlight, people's skin naturally produces vitamin D. Mozart, toward the end of his life, was nearly as nocturnal as a vampire, so his skin probably produced very little vitamin D. (The man failed to take any vitamin D supplements to counteract that deficiency. But that wasn't Mozart's fault. Only much later, in the 1920s, did scientists identify a clear link between vitamin D, sunlight, and good health. Vitamin D supplements did not go on sale in Salzburg and Vienna, Mozart's home towns, until many years after that.)

Stefan Pilz (who, if he plays his cards right, will hereafter be known as "Vitamin" Pilz) and William B Grant published their report, called Vitamin D Deficiency Contributed to Mozart's Death, in a journal called Medical Problems of Performing Artists. Pilz is a physician/researcher at the Medical University of Graz, Austria. Grant is a California physicist whose background is in optical and laser remote sensing of the atmosphere, and atmospheric sciences.

Pilz and Grant explain: "Mozart did much of his composing at night, so would have slept during much of the day. At the latitude of Vienna, 48º N, it is impossible to make vitamin D from solar ultraviolet-B irradiance for about six months of the year. Mozart died on 5 December, 1791, two to three months into the vitamin D winter."

[Bigg Red]

Interesting hypothesis. (But, jeez, who wrote this? A 14-year-old?)

[Talisker]

Another interesting but baseless and pointless theory

Another constipated comment from you -WHAT is the deal?

Baseless? It's a medical analysis of a probable vitamin deficiency that has a known effect on human life.

Pointless? Not only is it history - it's MOZART. And if THAT means nothing to you...

...nothing more need be said.

[EggsAckley]

You are correct, however the one factor that was left out was the fact that during that particular era Europe was experiencing several centuries of a phenomenon called “The Little Ice Age." There was a continuous lack of sunshine during this period, so Vitamin A was obviously lacking throughout the years.

Add that to Mozart's nocturnal habits, and it's pretty much a no-brainer that he was lacking in Vitamin A. I don't know if that's what killed him, but it surely didn't make him much of a happy camper.

[GeronL]

I am sure it was based on a thorough examination of Mozart.

It's a medical analysis of a probable vitamin deficiency that has a known effect on human life.

That is not in dispute, the question is: did this KILL Mozart.

answer: Not nearly enough evidence to say it did.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks GeronL. But are you tellin' me you didn't like *this*?!? Stefan Pilz (who, if he plays his cards right, will hereafter be known as "Vitamin" Pilz) and William B Grant published their report To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[SunkenCiv]

[null and void]

Well, it was a dark day when he died...

[Pharmboy]

The precise reason for the origin of the Christmas tree...tea made from evergreen needles kept our Euro ancestors alive during the winter. Good source of vitamin C...

[blam]

My doctor placed me on 50,000 IU of vitamin D a couple weeks ago. I had been taking 4,000 IU per day for the previous 18 months. After two different blood analysis, he said, "your vitamin D level is way low."

Anyway, it's been two weeks now and I'm not dead yet, lol.

I probably would have objected to such a large dose but I'd recently read in Science News about people on doses of 100,000 IU's.

[ARepublicanForAllReasons]

At first, I thought he might have been wearing his flats too tightly.

Forget about his flats and sharps. It was clearly an accidental death.

[Daffynition]

[decimon]

Ping

Thanks, blam.

If vitamin D deficiency weakens us then I can see where that may have contributed to his succumbing to just about anything.

Good that they mentioned the effect of latitude.

[Explorer89]

From the article:

“Rival doctors and historians have presented arguments, in medical and other academic journals, that Mozart perished from acute rheumatic fever, bacterial endocarditis, streptococcal septicemia, tuberculosis, cardiovascular disease, brain hemorrhage, hypertensive encephalopathy, congestive heart failure, uremia secondary to chronic kidney disease, pyelonephritis, congenital urinary tract anomaly with obstructive uropathy, bronchopneumonia, hemorrhagic shock, post-streptococcal Henoch-Schönlein purpura, polyarthritis, trichinellosis, amyloidosis, and quite a few other unpleasantnesses.”

I mean, come on, with all that, the guy didn’t stand a chance!

[Straight Vermonter]

At the latitude of Vienna, 48º N, it is impossible to make vitamin D from solar ultraviolet-B irradiance for about six months of the year.

I live at 45º N. I work at night and sleep all day. Yikes!

[SunkenCiv]

The sawbones here has had me on D-3 and Niacin, this as a way of addressing numbers he didn’t like in my blood work.

[SunkenCiv]

Maybe that was the problem in 2008.

[Domestic Church]

Still taking 5000 to 6000 ius D3 daily but it hasn’t stopped the ageing;~)

[Grampa Dave]

About 2 decades ago, most of the Derms in Wino Country declared war on any sunlight skin exposure,

They wanted people to put on sun blockers after showering and again during the day to avoid any sunlight on the skin.

Besides the sun blocking, they wanted their patients to wear wide brimmed hats, long sleeve shirts/blouses and heaven forbid no shorts/tees or swim suit during sunlight.

These Derms were not by themselves. They were part of a nationwide anti sun religion.

Since then, we have seen increases in cancers associated with low Vitamin D levels, Parkinson cases, D2, brittle bones in women and men and allergies/asmatha in children and adults and many more diseases often linked to low D levels.

I can remember good Internal Medicine and FP docs being concerned about the lack of Vitamin D due to sun light blocking throughout the day. It appears that they were correct re the religion of no sun even in moderation has/is taking a terrible toll on people.

[billorites]

Every time we take our kids to the pediatrician he makes his pitch for vitamin D supplements. "Adolescents just aren't getting enough Vitamin D." he says.

I think recommending supplements has probably become part of the standard of care in pediatrics like using seat belts or bike helmets.