Vitamin D ‘doesn’t help knee osteoarthritis sufferers’

WASHINGTON - Increasing intake of vitamin D is not likely to slow the progression knee osteoarthritis, a new study has revealed.

Osteoarthritis, or OA as it is commonly called, is the most common joint disease affecting middle age and older people.

The researchers divided participants evenly into two groups.

The first group was assigned to take placebo, and the second group was assigned to take vitamin D throughout the course of the study. Participants were not told which group they had been placed in.

The researchers also performed physical function tests and X-rays on each participant at the beginning of the study and again at 12 months.

At the end of the study, researchers found no substantial differences between the two groups in the areas studied - leading them to believe that those taking vitamin D did not benefit more than those who were not.

“This study tested whether vitamin D supplementation, given over a two-year period, could influence the rate of progression of joint damage in people with knee osteoarthritis,” explained Timothy McAlindon, Tufts New England Medical Center and lead investigator in the study.

The research was presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta. (ANI)