Background: Elevated levels of atmospheric pollutants might disrupt the metabolism of vitamin D in the skin. Studies showed inconsistent results about the impact of air pollution on the serum vitamin D level. This study aims to systematically review the influence of air pollution on vitamin D levels.
Materials and methods: The Medline database (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were systematically searched up to the end of July 2020. All observational, English-language, and human studies that assessed the effect of air pollution on vitamin D levels were included.
Results: Among 432 studies, 26 papers were included in the systematic review and five studies in the meta-analysis. Exposure to air pollution was associated with lower vitamin D levels (pooled mean difference (MD) = -8.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): -10.34, -5.75). There was some evidence of heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 91.39%).
Conclusion: The findings revealed a reverse correlation between vitamin D levels and air pollution. Air pollutants have an impact on the penetration of solar ultraviolet B (UVB) to the Earth's surface. Consequently, the occurrence of vitamin D deficiency could be linked to air pollution.
Keywords: Air pollution; particulate matter; vitamin D.
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