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Vitamin D supplementation does not help knee arthritis



DOI:10.1038/bonekey.2013.42

McAlindon et al. carried out a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial over two years, enrolling 146 patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. One group received oral cholecalciferol, starting at a dose of 2000 IU per day; the dose was increased until each patient had serum cholecalciferol levels of more than 36 ng/ml. The other group was given a placebo.

Patients in the treatment group experienced a mean serum vitamin D increase of 16.1 mg/ml, compared with a 2.1 mg/ml increase in the placebo arm, which was a significant intergroup difference (P<0.001). Although knee pain decreased in both groups (−2.31 [WOMAC pain scale] in the treatment group and −1.46 in the placebo group) this difference remained nonsignificant at all time points. Percentage cartilage volume decrease was practically identical in both groups (−4.30 treatment, −4.25 placebo).

Editor’s comment: Some studies have suggested that vitamin D may protect against progression of knee OA, while others have noted negative associations. Disappointingly, patients who were given cholecalciferol did not see improvements in knee pain or cartilage loss, nor did they experience any improvement in secondary endpoints of OA such as knee function and bone marrow lesions.


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