title: Effect of vitamin D on musculoskeletal pain and headache: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial among adult ethnic minorities in Norway.
abstract: Immigrants from South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa living in Northern Europe frequently have low vitamin D levels and more pain compared to the native Western population. The aim of this study was to examine whether daily vitamin D3 (25 μg/d or 10 μg/d) supplementation for 16 weeks would improve musculoskeletal pain or headache compared to placebo. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial recruited 251 participants aged 18 to 50 years, and 215 (86%) attended the follow-up visit. The pain measures were occurrence, anatomical localization, and degree of musculoskeletal pain, as measured by visual analogue scale (VAS) score during the past 2 weeks. Headache was measured with VAS and the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) questionnaire. At baseline, females reported more pain sites (4.7) than males (3.4), and only 7% reported no pain in the past 2 weeks. During the past 4 weeks, 63% reported headache with a high mean HIT-6 score of 60 (SD 7). At follow-up, vitamin D level, measured as serum 25(OH)D3, increased from 27 nmol/L to 52 nmol/L and from 27 nmol/L to 43 nmol/L in the 25-μg and 10-μg supplementation groups, respectively, whereas serum 25(OH)D3 did not change in the placebo group. Pain scores and headache scores were improved at follow-up compared with baseline. The use of vitamin D supplements, however, showed no significant effect on the occurrence, anatomical localization, and degree of pain or headache compared to placebo.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Department of Community Medicine, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Norway Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kirsten V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Knutsen
authors.forename: Ahmed A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Madar
authors.forename: Mette
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brekke
authors.forename: Haakon E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Bård
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Natvig
authors.forename: Ibrahimu
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mdala
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lagerlv
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009664:Norway / Q000208:ethnology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D
keywords: HIT-6; Headache; Musculoskeletal pain; Pain; Randomized controlled trial; Visual analogue scale; Vitamin D