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Musculoskeletal pain is associated with very low levels of vitamin D in men: results from the European Male Ageing Study

McBeth, John ; Pye, Stephen R. ; O'Neill, Terence W. ; Macfarlane, Gary J. ; Tajar, Abdelouahid ; Bartfai, Gyorgy ; Boonen, Steven ; Bouillon, Roger ; Casanueva, Felipe and Finn, Joseph D. , et al. (2010) In Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 69(8). p.1448-1452
Abstract
Introduction A study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that musculoskeletal pain is associated with low vitamin D levels but the relationship is explained by physical inactivity and/or other putative confounding factors. Methods Men aged 40-79 years completed a postal questionnaire including a pain assessment and attended a clinical assessment (lifestyle questionnaire, physical performance tests, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-(OH) D) levels from fasting blood sample). Subjects were classified according to 25-(OH) D levels as 'normal' (>= 15 ng/ml) or 'low' (<15 ng/ml). The relationship between pain status and 25-(OH) D levels was assessed using logistic regression. Results are expressed as ORs and 95% CIs. Results 3075 men of mean... (More)
Introduction A study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that musculoskeletal pain is associated with low vitamin D levels but the relationship is explained by physical inactivity and/or other putative confounding factors. Methods Men aged 40-79 years completed a postal questionnaire including a pain assessment and attended a clinical assessment (lifestyle questionnaire, physical performance tests, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-(OH) D) levels from fasting blood sample). Subjects were classified according to 25-(OH) D levels as 'normal' (>= 15 ng/ml) or 'low' (<15 ng/ml). The relationship between pain status and 25-(OH) D levels was assessed using logistic regression. Results are expressed as ORs and 95% CIs. Results 3075 men of mean (SD) age 60 (11) years were included in the analysis. 1262 (41.0%) subjects were pain-free, 1550 (50.4%) reported 'other pain' that did not satisfy criteria for chronic widespread pain (CWP) and 263 (8.6%) reported CWP. Compared with patients who were pain-free, those with 'other pain' and CWP had lower 25-(OH) D levels (n = 239 (18.9%), n = 361 (23.3) and n = 67 (24.1%), respectively, p < 0.05). After adjusting for age, having 'other pain' was associated with a 30% increase in the odds of having low 25-(OH) D while CWP was associated with a 50% increase. These relationships persisted after adjusting for physical activity levels. Adjusting for additional lifestyle factors (body mass index, smoking and alcohol use) and depression attenuated these relationships, although pain remained moderately associated with increased odds of 20% of having low vitamin D levels. Conclusions These findings have implications at a population level for the long-term health of individuals with musculoskeletal pain. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
volume
69
issue
8
pages
1448 - 1452
publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • wos:000280171700008
  • scopus:77955442461
  • pmid:20498201
ISSN
1468-2060
DOI
10.1136/ard.2009.116053
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e1619e33-f6a5-425f-91b1-161acd4b7a0e (old id 1654614)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:56:09
date last changed
2022-05-19 08:44:45
@article{e1619e33-f6a5-425f-91b1-161acd4b7a0e,
  abstract     = {{Introduction A study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that musculoskeletal pain is associated with low vitamin D levels but the relationship is explained by physical inactivity and/or other putative confounding factors. Methods Men aged 40-79 years completed a postal questionnaire including a pain assessment and attended a clinical assessment (lifestyle questionnaire, physical performance tests, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-(OH) D) levels from fasting blood sample). Subjects were classified according to 25-(OH) D levels as 'normal' (&gt;= 15 ng/ml) or 'low' (&lt;15 ng/ml). The relationship between pain status and 25-(OH) D levels was assessed using logistic regression. Results are expressed as ORs and 95% CIs. Results 3075 men of mean (SD) age 60 (11) years were included in the analysis. 1262 (41.0%) subjects were pain-free, 1550 (50.4%) reported 'other pain' that did not satisfy criteria for chronic widespread pain (CWP) and 263 (8.6%) reported CWP. Compared with patients who were pain-free, those with 'other pain' and CWP had lower 25-(OH) D levels (n = 239 (18.9%), n = 361 (23.3) and n = 67 (24.1%), respectively, p &lt; 0.05). After adjusting for age, having 'other pain' was associated with a 30% increase in the odds of having low 25-(OH) D while CWP was associated with a 50% increase. These relationships persisted after adjusting for physical activity levels. Adjusting for additional lifestyle factors (body mass index, smoking and alcohol use) and depression attenuated these relationships, although pain remained moderately associated with increased odds of 20% of having low vitamin D levels. Conclusions These findings have implications at a population level for the long-term health of individuals with musculoskeletal pain.}},
  author       = {{McBeth, John and Pye, Stephen R. and O'Neill, Terence W. and Macfarlane, Gary J. and Tajar, Abdelouahid and Bartfai, Gyorgy and Boonen, Steven and Bouillon, Roger and Casanueva, Felipe and Finn, Joseph D. and Forti, Gianni and Giwercman, Aleksander and Han, Thang S. and Huhtaniemi, Ilpo T. and Kula, Krzysztof and Lean, Michael E. J. and Pendleton, Neil and Punab, Margus and Silman, Alan J. and Vanderschueren, Dirk and Wu, Frederick C. W.}},
  issn         = {{1468-2060}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{1448--1452}},
  publisher    = {{BMJ Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases}},
  title        = {{Musculoskeletal pain is associated with very low levels of vitamin D in men: results from the European Male Ageing Study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ard.2009.116053}},
  doi          = {{10.1136/ard.2009.116053}},
  volume       = {{69}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}