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Nutrition and Health (including climate and ecological aspects)

The effect of proto-type wearable light-emitting devices on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in healthy adults: a 4-week randomized controlled trial

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 77, pages 342–347 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Many people in modern society have insufficient exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) sunlight, which may lead to vitamin D deficiency. We aimed to investigate the effect of a proto-type wearable light-emitting diode (LED) device emitting UVB light on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

Methods

A total of 136 healthy adults were randomly assigned to receive either an active device emitting UVB light with a peak wavelength of 285 nm (n = 64) or a sham device emitting visible light (n = 72). All participants wore the device for a total of two minutes, one minute on each forearm, every day for 4 weeks. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were assessed at baseline, 2, and 4 weeks of intervention, and 2 weeks after the end of the intervention.

Results

A significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups in changes in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels from baseline after two (0.25 ± 3.10 ng/mL vs. −1.07 ± 2.68 ng/mL, p = 0.009) and 4 weeks of intervention (0.75 ± 3.98 ng/mL vs. −1.75 ± 3.04 ng/mL, p < 0.001). In the experimental group, the dropout rate due to mild, self-limiting adverse skin reactions was 11.8% (9/76). The mean total 25-hydroxyvitamin D production after UVB exposure was estimated at 0.031 ng/mL per 1 cm2 of skin area.

Conclusions

A prototype wearable LED UVB device was effective for improving 25-hydroxyvitamin D status. The development of a safer wearable LED device for phototherapy may provide a novel daily, at-home option for vitamin D supplementation.

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Fig. 1: Photographs of the proto-type wearable devices.
Fig. 2: Flow chart of study participants.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Engineering Research Center of Excellence (ERC) Program supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF), Korean Ministry of Science & ICT (MSIT) (Grant No. NRF-2017R1A5A1014708).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Jaehyeok Park, In-Young Yoon.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Medical Service, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea

    Hyuk Joo Lee

  2. School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea

    Seunghyup Yoo, Sunhyoung Koo & Jaehyeok Park

  3. Asleep Inc, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Jung Kyung Hong

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Republic of Korea

    Jun Seok Ahn

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Veteran Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Eunyoung Lee

  6. Department of Semiconductor & Department of Chemical Engineering (BK21 FOUR Graduate Program), Dong-A University, Busan, Republic of Korea

    Hanul Moon

  7. Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju, Republic of Korea

    Tae Kim

  8. Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea

    In-Young Yoon

  9. Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    In-Young Yoon

Authors
  1. Hyuk Joo Lee
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  2. Seunghyup Yoo
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Contributions

HJL, SY, TK, JP, and I-YY: designed the research; JKH, JSA, and EL conducted the research study; SY, HM, SK, and JP provided essential research materials; HJL, JP, and I-YY: performed statistical analyses and wrote the manuscript; HJL, SY, JP, and I-YY critically reviewed the manuscript; I-YY had primary responsibility for the final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jaehyeok Park or In-Young Yoon.

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Lee, H.J., Yoo, S., Hong, J.K. et al. The effect of proto-type wearable light-emitting devices on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in healthy adults: a 4-week randomized controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr 77, 342–347 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-022-01241-z

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