Improvement of pain, sleep, and quality of life in chronic pain patients with vitamin D supplementation.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of vitamin D supplementation in outpatient veterans with multiple areas of chronic pain.


METHODS
A case series was performed as an outpatient vitamin D supplementation quality improvement project. A total of 28 US veterans with multiple areas of chronic pain and low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] (<30 ng/mL) concentrations at baseline were identified in a major Veterans Affairs Medical Center from May 2009 till November 2010. They were supplemented with vitamin D 1200 IU daily if serum 25(OH)D was in the insufficient range (20 to 29 ng/mL) or 50,000 IU weekly if serum 25(OH)D was in the deficient range (<20 ng/mL). Standardized outcome measures were assessed before and after supplementation, including pain assessed by the 0 to 10 pain score and the bodily pain domain score of the Veterans Rand 36 item, sleep by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and quality of life (QoL) by the Veterans Rand 36 item.


RESULTS
Participants reported no side effects during the study. Relative to baseline, pain, sleep, and QoL all improved except for role-functioning emotional. The improvements remained significant in pain score (P<0.001), sleep latency (P=0.019), sleep duration (P=0.012), bodily pain (P=0.014), general health (P=0.006), vitality (P=0.048), and social functioning (P=0.017) after controlling for age, sex, race, body mass index, season, baseline serum 25(OH)D concentration subgroup, and whether or not participants received additional procedural intervention during the supplementation period.


CONCLUSIONS
Standardized vitamin D supplementation in veterans with multiple areas of chronic pain can be effective in improving their pain levels, sleep, and various aspects of QoL.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Extended Care Service Line, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA 30033, USA. whuang4@emory.edu
Wei
W
Huang
Shivani
S
Shah
Qi
Q
Long
Alicia K
AK
Crankshaw
Vin
V
Tangpricha
D000328:Adult; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D