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. 2010 Jan 20:(1):CD007771.
doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007771.pub2.

Vitamin D for the treatment of chronic painful conditions in adults

Sebastian Straube  1 , Sheena Derry, R Andrew Moore, Henry J McQuay
Affiliations

Vitamin D for the treatment of chronic painful conditions in adults

Sebastian Straube et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. .

Update in

Abstract

Background: Vitamin D is produced in the skin after sun-light exposure and can also be obtained through food. Vitamin D deficiency has recently been linked with a range of diseases including chronic pain. Observational and circumstantial evidence suggests that there may be a role for vitamin D deficiency in the aetiology of chronic pain conditions.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and adverse events of vitamin D supplementation in chronic painful conditions.

Search strategy: We searched Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Oxford Pain Relief Database for studies to September 2009. This was supplemented by searching the reference lists of retrieved articles, textbooks and reviews.

Selection criteria: Studies were included if they were randomised double blind trials of vitamin D supplementation compared with placebo or with active comparators for the treatment of chronic pain conditions in adults.

Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently selected the studies for inclusion, assessed methodological quality, and extracted data. Pooled analysis was not undertaken due to paucity and heterogeneity of data.

Main results: Four studies, with a total of 294 participants, were included. The studies were heterogeneous with regard to study quality, the chronic painful conditions that were investigated, and the outcome measures reported. Only one study reported a beneficial effect, the others found no benefit of vitamin D over placebo in treating chronic pain.

Authors' conclusions: The evidence base for the use of vitamin D for chronic pain in adults is poor at present. This is due to low quality and insufficient randomised controlled trials in this area of research.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Methodological quality summary: review authors’ judgements about each methodological quality item for each included study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

References to studies included in this review

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    1. Di Munno O, Beghe F, Favini P, Di Giuseppe P, Pontrandolfo A, Occhipinti G, Pasero G. Prevention of glucocorticoid-induced osteopenia: effect of oral 25-hydroxyvitamin D and calcium. Clinical Rheumatology. 1989;8(2):202–7. - PubMed
    1. Warner AE, Arnspiger SA. Diffuse musculoskeletal pain is not associated with low vitamin D levels or improved by treatment with vitamin D. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology: Practical Reports on Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases. 2008;14(1):12–6. DOI: 10.1097/RHU.0b013c31816356a9. - PubMed
    1. Yamauchi Y, Tsunematsu T, Konda S, Hoshino T, Itokawa Y, Hoshizaki H. A double blind trial of alfacalcidol on patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Ryumachi. [Rheumatism] 1989;29(1):11–24. - PubMed

References to studies excluded from this review

    1. Arden NK, Crozier S, Smith H, Anderson F, Edwards C, Raphael H, et al. Knee pain, knee osteoarthritis, and the risk of fracture. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2006;55(4):610–5. DOI: 10.1002/art.22088. - PubMed
    1. Björkman M, Sorva A, Tilvis R. Vitamin D supplementation has no major effect on pain or pain behavior in bedridden geriatric patients with advanced dementia. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. 2008;20(4):316–21. - PubMed
    1. de Nijs RN, Jacobs JW, Lems WF, Laan RF, Algra A, Huisman AM, et al. STOP Investigators Alendronate or alfacalcidol in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;355(7):675–84. CTG: NCT00138983. - PubMed
    1. Dottori L, D’Ottavio D, Brundisini B. Calcifediol and calcitonin in the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis. A short-term controlled study [Calcifediolo e calcitonina nella terapia dell’artrite reumatoide. Studio controllato a breve termine] Minerva Medica. 1982;73(43):3033–40. - PubMed
    1. Grove O, Halver B. Relief of osteoporotic backache with fluoride, calcium, and calciferol. Acta Medica Scandinavica. 1981;209(6):469–71. - PubMed

Additional references

    1. Alonso J, Ferrer M, Gandek B, Ware JE, Jr, Aaronson NK, Mosconi P, et al. Health-related quality of life associated with chronic conditions in eight countries: results from the International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) Project. Quality of Life Research. 2004;13(2):283–98. - PubMed
    1. Atherton K, Berry DJ, Parsons T, Macfarlane GJ, Power C, Hypponen E. Vitamin D and chronic widespread pain in a white middle-aged British population: evidence from a cross-sectional population survey. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2009;68(6):817–22. DOI: 10.1136/ard.2008.090456. - PubMed
    1. Autier P, Gandini S. Vitamin D supplementation and total mortality: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2007;167:1730–7. - PubMed
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    1. Bennett M, Heard R. Treatment of multiple sclerosis with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. 2001;28(3):117–22. - PubMed

References to other published versions of this review

    1. Straube S, Moore RA, Derry S, McQuay HJ. Vitamin D and chronic pain. Pain. 2009;141(1-2):10–3. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2008.11.010. - PubMed

    1. *Indicates the major publication for the study

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