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Modest benefit from vitamin D supplementation observed in patients with knee OA after 2 years
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Patients with knee osteoarthritis gained only “modest benefits” from 2 years of supplementation with vitamin D, according to study findings.
A multicenter, parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted with 413 patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) and insufficient serum vitamin D levels in Melbourne and Hobart, Australia. Patients had a mean age of 63.2 years; 208 of the patients were women, and all patients were followed for 24 months. Patients were randomly assigned to either a single 50,000 IU monthly D3 capsule or an identical placebo capsule.
At baseline and follow-up, pain was assessed using the WOMAC pain score, and changes in knee tibial cartilage volume were measured using MRI.
Serum levels of 25(OH) vitamin D levels increased by a mean of 40.6 nmol/L after 24 months in the group of patients who received supplementation compared with 6.7 nmol/L in the placebo group. No statistically significant change in tibial cartilage volume or WOMAC pain scores were observed, according to the researchers.
Secondary analysis showed a greater decrease in pain was evident in the treatment group for VAS pain at 24 months compared with the placebo group. A tendency toward a 20% or greater and 50% or greater improvement in total WOMAC pain scores was observed in patients who received supplementation after 24 months.
Between the two groups, no significant changes in tibiofemoral cartilage defects or tibiofemoral bone marrow lesions were observed, but a slower increase in tibiofemoral bone marrow lesions was observed in patients who received vitamin D supplementation, according to the researchers.
Adverse events were mostly minor but more likely to occur in the group who received vitamin D (42 vs. 26), and serious adverse events were infrequent and comparable between the two groups (14 vs. 12). – by Shirley Pulawski
Reference:
Jin X, et al. Paper #OP0296. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology; June 10-13, 2015; Rome.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.