Effect of vitamin D supplementation on progression of knee pain and cartilage volume loss in patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Importance: Knee osteoarthritis (OA), a disorder of cartilage and periarticular bone, is a public health problem without effective medical treatments. Some studies have suggested that vitamin D may protect against structural progression.

Objective: To determine whether vitamin D supplementation reduces symptom and structural progression of knee OA.

Design, setting, and patients: A 2-year randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, clinical trial involving 146 participants with symptomatic knee OA (mean age, 62.4 years [SD, 8.5]; 57 women [61%], 115 white race [79%]). Patients were enrolled at Tufts Medical Center in Boston between March 2006 and June 2009.

Intervention: Participants were randomized to receive either placebo or oral cholecalciferol, 2000 IU/d, with dose escalation to elevate serum levels to more than 36 ng/mL.

Main outcome measures: Primary outcomes were knee pain severity (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities [WOMAC] pain scale, 0-20: 0, no pain; 20, extreme pain), and cartilage volume loss measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Secondary end points included physical function, knee function (WOMAC function scale, 0-68: 0, no difficulty; 68, extreme difficulty), cartilage thickness, bone marrow lesions, and radiographic joint space width.

Results: Eighty-five percent of the participants completed the study. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels increased by a mean 16.1 ng/mL (95% CI, 13.7 to 18.6) in the treatment group and by a mean 2.1 mg/mL (95% CI, 0.5 to 3.7) (P < .001) in the placebo group. Baseline knee pain was slightly worse in the treatment group (mean, 6.9; 95% CI, 6.0 to 7.7) than in the placebo group (mean, 5.8; 95% CI, 5.0 to 6.6) (P = .08). Baseline knee function was significantly worse in the treatment group (mean, 22.7; 95% CI, 19.8 to 25.6) than in the placebo group (mean, 18.5; 95% CI, 15.8 to 21.2) (P = .04). Knee pain decreased in both groups by a mean -2.31 (95% CI, -3.24 to -1.38) in the treatment group and -1.46 (95% CI, -2.33 to -0.60) in the placebo group, with no significant differences at any time. The percentage of cartilage volume decreased by the same extent in both groups (mean, -4.30; 95% CI, -5.48 to -3.12 vs mean, -4.25; 95% CI, -6.12 to -2.39) (P = .96). There were no differences in any of the secondary clinical end points.

Conclusion and relevance: Vitamin D supplementation for 2 years at a dose sufficient to elevate 25-hydroxyvitamin D plasma levels to higher than 36 ng/mL, when compared with placebo, did not reduce knee pain or cartilage volume loss in patients with symptomatic knee OA.

Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00306774.

Figure 1. Flow of Participant Screening, Enrollment, and Participation

*Reasons for failing the prescreen and the screening visits were not systematically recorded

Figure 2

Plot of average WOMAC pain at study visits by treatment group. Results for the vitamin D group are shown by the red curve, and placebo group results by the black. 95% confidence intervals for the averages are shown by vertical bars. Numbers of subjects are shown at the bottom of the plotting area in red for the vitamin D group and in black for the placebo group. Visit weeks are slightly offset horizontally to allow viewing results for both groups.