Could Vitamin D Help to Prevent Onset of Osteoarthritis?

Vitamin D supplementation does not prevent the onset or worsening of osteoarthritis (OA), except in progressive knee cases, according to the results of a new meta-analysis that also included new research.

To analyze the relationship between OA and vitamin D levels, investigators from Erasmus Medical Center, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, examined 12 studies (6 longitudinal with 4256 total participants and 6 cross-sectional with 4277 total subjects) in PubMed from February 1975 to December 2014. The researchers also did an updated analysis of the largest study reviewed—the Rotterdam Study, a prospective population-based cohort study of 1248 elderly participants (58% women).
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“No clear association between vitamin serum levels and prevalent, incident, or progressive knee, hip, or hand OA was observed,” stated the researchers, who acknowledged the low quality of most studies they reviewed, as well as the conflicting results.

The subjects had a greater risk of prevalent joint space narrowing (JSN) with decreasing vitamin D levels (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.15 to 2.01), according to the meta-analysis of three cross-sectional studies. The meta-analysis of three studies on low vitamin D levels and incident and progressive knee OA did not show a significant relationship (OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.92), but when considering only progressive knee OA, the risk did jump significantly (OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.22 to 4.72).

“Epidemiological studies do not provide evidence of an independent association between 25(OH) vitamin D serum levels with hip or hand OA,” the researchers concluded in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. “When analyzing subgroups of knee OA, significant associations of low vitamin D levels with prevalent knee JSN and with progressive knee OA were observed.”

The study results do not support vitamin D as an effective treatment for OA, added investigator Joyce van Meurs, PhD. “However, within the Netherlands, this is not a recommended treatment for OA.”

-Mike Bederka

Reference:

Bergink AP, Zillikens MC, van Leeuwen JPTM, Hofman A, Uitterlinden AG, van Meurs JBJ. 25-hydroxyvitamin D and osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis including new data. Sem Arthritis Rheum. 2015 October [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2015.09.010.