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Study links knee OA pain in African Americans to vitamin D deficiency

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In findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, researchers from the University of Alabama-Birmingham and University of Florida found African Americans with knee osteoarthritis (OA) displayed increased pain and lower levels of vitamin D compared to white Americans.

Seventy-five percent of study participants were women and those studied had an average age of 56 years.

“People associate vitamin D with good bone health,” Toni L. Glover, MSN, ARNP, a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida and lead study author, stated in a press release from Arthritis & Rheumatism. “Yet not everyone is aware of what factors decrease vitamin D and how low levels could contribute to health issues, including chronic pain,” she stated.

Glover and colleagues issued questionnaires to 45 African American and 49 Caucasian study participants with symptomatic OA that resided in a sunny, southern climate. They tested the participants for sensitivity to heat and pain tolerance. The researchers measured vitamin D levels in both groups and found 84% of the African American and 51% of the Caucasian participants had vitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL, which indicated an insufficient vitamin D level.

Moreover, African Americans had deficient vitamin D levels at 19.9 ng/mL, average, while Caucasians had insufficient levels of vitamin D at 28.2 ng/mL, average.

The African Americans studied reported greater sensitivity to heat and pain during mechanical testing, which Glover and colleagues linked to their vitamin D levels.

“Our data demonstrate that differences in experimental pain sensitivity between the two races are mediated at least in part by variations in vitamin D levels,” she stated in the release. “However, further studies are needed to fully understand the link between low vitamin D levels and racial disparities in pain.”

Reference:

Glover TL. Arthritis Rheum. 2012;doi:10.1002/art.37687.

Disclosure: The authors received funding for this study from the National Institute on Aging, the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Mayday Fund.