The efficacy of vitamin D in treatment of fibromyalgia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies and systematic review

Abstract

Background and aims: Recent studies have found potential benefits of vitamin D in relieving pain, and the results from randomized controlled trials of vitamin D for fibromyalgia have been promising. We conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin D for treating fibromyalgia.

Research design and methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for English-language articles. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we selected only randomized controlled studies that reported vitamin D versus placebo-controlled cure for fibromyalgia. After extracting valid data, a meta-analysis was performed using Stata 12.0. The major outcome in the pooled analysis was the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) changes.

Results: Five studies including 315 participants were identified. These studies found that vitamin D was effective in reducing Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire scores compared with those of the control group, with significant differences (weighted mean difference = -7.82, 95% confidence interval: -12.05 to -3.59, P < 0.001). However, there was no statistical difference in VAS between the two groups (weighted mean difference = -0.60, 95% confidence interval: -1.38 to 0.17, P > 0.05).

Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation may be an effective fibromyalgia therapeutic approach.

Keywords: Vitamin D; fibromyalgia; meta-analysis; randomized controlled studies; treatments.