Study: Sun could save lives of pneumonia patients

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A little sunshine, as they say, can spread happiness. Now researchers in New Zealand have found that it can also save the lives of pneumonia patients.

Medical scientists have found that vitamin D, generated through the skin's exposure to sunlight, is a major factor in enhancing the survival rate of pneumonia patients.

Researchers at Waikato University collaborated with doctors at Waikato Hospital, both Hamilton-based institutions, to study blood samples of 112 pneumonia-afflicted patients admitted to the hospital during the winter. They found that patients with severe vitamin D deficiency - 17 in this case - were more likely to die within a month, compared to patients with normal or slightly-low vitamin D levels.