Your body synthesizes vitamin D when exposed to sunlight to make vitamin D3. Vitamin D can also be found in some foods, such as fish and fortified milk and juice. Until your body metabolizes vitamin D, however, it is unusable. In the body, vitamin D goes through a complex process involving your liver and kidneys to form 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. In this capacity, it may help with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis pain, under your doctor's supervision.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a condition that affects the cartilage, the bendable connective tissue, at the joints between your bones. It affects about 27 million Americans, according to the Hospital for Special Surgery. Cartilage protects the ends of your bones, allowing the joints to twist and rotate. As you get older, wear, tear, trauma and age may cause your cartilage to deteriorate. This may result in decreased motion, stiffness, discomfort, pain and swelling.
Osteoarthritis and Vitamin D
Working from the assumption that low levels of serum vitamin D promoted the progression of osteoarthritis, a 1996 study in the "Annals of Internal Medicine" followed a group of 556 patients over a period of about 10 years, measuring vitamin D intake and serum levels. At the end of this period, 137 individuals had developed osteoarthritis of the knee. Of this group, low levels of vitamin D correlated with loss of cartilage. This led the researchers to conclude that low vitamin D intake was a risk factor for osteoarthritis. Vitamin D may help reduce the progression of osteoarthritis and alleviate some of the discomfort, but should only be taken on the advice of your health care provider.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis, unlike osteoarthritis, is an autoimmune disease that affects the lining of your joints, usually in your hands and feet. The disease mistakes your own tissues as foregn bodies and attacks them. This causes inflammation and pain and may eventually lead to the disintegration of the bones and deformity of the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis may also cause general malaise, fatigue and fevers. Rheumatoid arthritis is normally seen around the ages of 40 to 60, and more often in women than men.
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Vitamin D
Vitamin D, in the form of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, plays a variety of critical roles in your immune system. In a 2004 study in the journal "Arthritis and Rheumatism," over 29,000 women without rheumatoid arthritis were followed for a period of 11 years. Over that time, diet was followed, including vitamin D supplementation, if any. At the end of the study, 152 individuals were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and the lower intake of vitamin D was associated with the risk of developing RA. Another study in 2003, in the same journal, found that vitamin D with calcium helped alleviate joint pain. Consult with your doctor prior to taking any supplements.
References
- Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin D
- Hospital for Special Surgery: About Osteoarthritis - An Overview
- "Annals of Internal Medicine"; Relation of Dietary Intake and Serum Levels of Vitamin D to Progression of Osteoarthritis of the Knee among Participants in the Framingham Study; Timothy E. McAlindon, et al.; September 1996
- Mayo Clinic: Rheumatoid arthritis
- "Arthritis and Rheumatism"; Vitamin D intake is inversely associated with rheumatoid arthritis: Results from the Iowa Women's Health Study; Linda A. Merlino, et al.; January 2004
- "Arthritis and Rheumatism"; Arthritis self-management education programs: A meta-analysis of the effect on pain and disability; Asra Warsi, et al.; August 2003
