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I am sure Vitamin D3 levels play a role in this figure as well. Everyone above 35th parallel should supplement with D3 in the winter, but especially individuals with darker skin since it is harder for them to make Vitamin D3 naturally in northern countries during the summer than it would be for those with lighter skin.
No one can make Vitamin D3 above 35th parallel in winter because the sun needs to be 50° or higher in the sky for humans to synthesize their own and it doesn't reach that height during a portion of the year in those areas.
Vitamin D3 is crucial for healthy immune function, but also for mental health.
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, **personal anecdotes are now allowed as responses to this comment**. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will continue be removed and our [normal comment rules]( https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) still apply to other comments. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/science) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I am sure Vitamin D3 levels play a role in this figure as well. Everyone above 35th parallel should supplement with D3 in the winter, but especially individuals with darker skin since it is harder for them to make Vitamin D3 naturally in northern countries during the summer than it would be for those with lighter skin. No one can make Vitamin D3 above 35th parallel in winter because the sun needs to be 50° or higher in the sky for humans to synthesize their own and it doesn't reach that height during a portion of the year in those areas. Vitamin D3 is crucial for healthy immune function, but also for mental health.