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Study: Vitamin D has no effect on osteoarthritis of the knee
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Scientists have conducted randomized studies to find out whether vitamin D intake affects the symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
Within two years, patients with symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee took vitamin D. As a result, it was found that its use does not affect the degenerative disease of the knee joint. The specialists did not find a significant difference between the condition of patients taking vitamin D and placebo.
" Knee osteoarthritis is a consequence of the" wear "of the joints and is the most common type of arthritis," the researchers say. - This is a progressive disease that affects the articular cartilage and causes the appearance of bone growth around the joint. Osteoarthritis negatively affects the daily life of a person, is accompanied by pain and in some cases requires endoprosthetics. "
Unfortunately, there are no treatments that can affect the course of the disease, but some studies have shown that vitamin D can protect against structural changes in the affected joint.
Dr. Timothy McAlindon of Tufts University in Boston, along with a team of colleagues, conducted clinical trials to examine the effect and relationship of vitamin D with a reduction in the symptomatic and structural progression of osteoarthritis of the knee joints.
One hundred and forty-six people with symptomatic (clinical) manifestations of knee osteoarthritis took part in the study. The average age of the patients was 62 years and 61% of the participants were men. The experiment began in March 2006 and lasted until 2009.
Participants were randomly divided into two groups, one receiving a placebo and the other receiving cholecalciferol (Cholecalciferol, vitamin D3) 2000 IU / day, with a gradual increase in the dose.
Scientists recorded changes in pain in the knee with a twenty-point scale, where 0 - no pain, and 20 - severe pain.
The loss of cartilage volume of the knee joint was measured using magnetic resonance imaging.
At the beginning of the study, in the group receiving cholecalciferol, the average condition of the patients was worse than in the group that received the placebo.
The researchers found that pain in the knee decreased in both groups, but there were no significant differences in the intake of vitamin D.
Thus, including the results of this clinical trial and the data as a whole, the specialists concluded that vitamin D as an additive does not have a significant effect on the symptomatic and structural progression of osteoarthritis of the knee joints.
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