Chronic pain linked to low vitamin D in UK women
Posted on 21. Sep, 2009 by Guy in Nutrition & Lifestyle
Chronic wide spread pain such as fibromyalgia affects 10% of the UK population and is often thought to be of psychological origin. Recent evidence, however, suggests a nutritional cause.
A group from the University College of London recently reported in Rheumatology the results of a population wide survey of Scotland, Wales and England. They were looking for an association between blood vitamin D levels and chronic wide spread pain (CWP) and, intriguingly, only found an association in women.
After surveying biomedical data of over 6,500 individuals an association between CWP and vitamin D levels was found in women, but not in men. The association persisted after controlling for potential social and lifestyle variables such as smoking, alcohol and physical activity. The authors concluded that “current vitamin D status was associated with CWP in women but not as much in men” and suggested a need for follow-up studies to determine whether vitamin D supplementation may reduce disease risk.
Guy’s Comment:
An independent study published in 2009 aimed to asses response in varied symptoms to vitamin D treatment in vitamin D deficient individuals, as part of the assessment patients were graded using a fibromyalgia symptom questionnaire (Endocr Pract. 2009 May-Jun;15(3):203-12.). It was found that “compared with participants in the placebo group, patients in the treatment group showed mild short-term improvement in the overall fibromyalgia impact score, but did not show significant improvement in most musculoskeletal symptoms or in activities of daily living.”
While it seems vitamin D deficiency may not be the single cause of CWP, published case reports of patients whose condition is correctable on initiation of vitamin D therapy suggests it may be for some. It certainly has a role to play in overall health and immune system function, and it ridiculously low in many of the UK population. Collectively these reports provide evidence for a role of vitamin D status in the management of CWP.
I recommend aiming to get 20-30 mins of sun exposure around lunchtime in the UK, almost every day. This means shorts and t-shirt. If the weather is winterish then, perhaps a supplementation of ISO D3 would be wise for the darker months, unless that is you live in the tropics.
Click here to find out more about effective Vitamin D supplementation
Source: Atherton K et al. Vitamin D and chronic widespread pain in a white middle-aged British population: evidence from a cross-sectional population survey. Ann Rheum Dis 2009;68;817-822;
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