Are Low Vitamin D Levels Associated with Nonspecific Pain?

Observational data have suggested that vitamin D deficiency might be a common cause of otherwise unexplained musculoskeletal pain (Journal Watch Jan 9 2004). In two new studies, researchers addressed this problem.

In a cross-sectional population-based study, researchers examined the relation between vitamin D status and pain in the back, hips, knees, and feet in 958 randomly selected older adults (age, ≥65) in Italy. Women with low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (<25 nmol/L, equivalent to 10 ng/mL) were somewhat more likely than those with higher levels to have isolated back pain without lower extremity pain (17% vs. 9%, P=0.04). However, no correlation was found between vitamin D levels and other pain patterns in women (lower extremities alo…