The Benefits of UVB Exposure to Covid-19: A Literature Review Study

Abstract

COVID-19 is a disease caused by SARS CoV-2, which has infected almost all countries globally and designated by WHO as a pandemic until now. COVID-19 has caused multiple mortalities and affected many material and non-material losses. Many public authorities and researchers have contributed to dealing with this pandemic. The theory application regarding the benefits of exposure to UVB rays in COVID-19 is essential to study further. This literature review assessed the benefits of exposure to UVB rays in COVID-19. This research was a literature review. The keywords used were (“Ultraviolet-B” OR UVB) AND (“COVID-19” OR “SARS-coV-2” OR “2019-nCoV disease” OR “Coronavirus disease-19” OR “2019 novel coronavirus disease”). The databases used were Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct. The inclusion test eligibility criteria included articles in English, articles having a direct or indirect relationship between exposure to UVB rays and COVID-19, all countries, all ethnicities and races, and articles from 2019 to 2021. The exclusion criteria were e-books and journals with pre-proof, pre-print, article in press, and systematic review status. Journals that were relevant to the topic were synthesized using narrative analysis techniques. A search with the related keywords resulted in 999 articles from Google Scholar, 33 articles from PubMed, and 189 articles from Science Direct. In general, the results showed that the benefits of exposure to UVB rays in COVID-19 are UVB synthesis of vitamin D into 25-OH vitamin D3, which functions as an immunomodulator, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, lowers CFR COVID-19 and cumulative mortality of COVID-19 19, enhances immunity to viral and bacterial infections, inactivates the SARS CoV-2 virus, reduces airborne virus transmission, and increases venous oxygen.