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Clinical trials of chondroitin’s efficacy for relieving the pain of osteoarthritis have produced conflicting results. In this meta-analysis, researchers examined results of randomized controlled trials of oral chondroitin in patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis. The review identified 22 trials (5 published as abstracts only), including several recent large studies.
Overall, 4056 patients were enrolled in the studies; half had fewer than 120 subjects. Median duration of treatment was 25 weeks, and the median daily dose was 1000 mg.
A meta-analysis of the 20 trials with sufficient data found that chondroitin produced a significant effect, corresponding to a 1.6 cm difference in pain scores (on a visual analog scale of 1–10 cm). But heteroge…