Supplementation with vitamin D over four years was associated with significantly less progression of knee joint abnormalities. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Associations between Vitamin C and D Intake and Cartilage Composition and Knee Joint Morphology over 4 years: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.
Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2019 Jul 8. Epub 2019 Jul 8. PMID: 31282125
Gabby B Joseph
OBJECTIVE: To determine the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of vitamin C and D intake with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging measures of cartilage composition (T2) and joint structure (cartilage, meniscus, and bone marrow) using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) cohort.
METHODS: 1785 subjects with radiographic Kellgren Lawrence knee grades 0-3 in the right knee were selected from the OAI database. Vitamin C and vitamin D intakes (diet, supplements, and total) were assessed from the baseline Block Brief 2000 questionnaire. The MRI analysis protocol included 3T cartilage T2 quantification and semi-quantitative joint morphology gradings (WORMS) at baseline and 4 years. Linear regression was used to assess the association between standardized baseline vitamin intake and both baseline WORMS scores and standardized cartilage T2.
RESULTS: Higher vitamin C intake was associated with lower average cartilage T2, medial tibia T2 and medial tibia WORMS (coeff_standardized range: -0.07 to -0.05, p<0.05). Higher vitamin D intake was associated with lower cartilage WORMS sum score and medial femur WORMS score (coeff_standardized range: -0.24 to -0.09, p<0.05). Consistent use of vitamin D supplements over 4 years of 400 IU at least once a week was associated with significantly less worsening of cartilage, meniscus and bone marrow abnormalities (odds ratio range: 0.40 to 0.56, p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Supplementation with vitamin D over four years was associated with significantly less progression of knee joint abnormalities. Given the observational nature of this study, future longitudinal randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation are warranted. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.