title: Pain involving the motor system and serum vitamin D concentration in postmenopausal women working in agriculture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Since the role of vitamin D is essential in numerous biological processes its deficiency was suggested to be a risk factor for e.g. osteoporosis, musculoskeletal pain and spine pain. The purpose of the study was to analyse whether serum vitamin D concentration is related to pain involving the motor system in Polish postmenopausal women working in agriculture.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group consisted of 1,751 post-menopausal women, aged 45-65, at least 12 months from the last menstrual period, living in rural areas and working in agriculture. The research method was self-assessment of pain involving the motor system using VAS, laboratory test of serum vitamin D concentration and a medical interview. Statistical methods included generalized linear models, analysis of variance, t test for two means in two independents, χ2 test of stochastic independence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Postmenopausal women working in agriculture and suffering from pain in at least one part of the motor system were younger and lower educated, they also had higher abdominal obesity and lower serum vitamin D, compared to those without pain in any part of the motor system. Decreased serum vitamin D concentration in postmenopausal women working in agriculture is important from the aspect of a higher prevalence of pain in the thoracic spine and more severe pain in the neck spine, but not for severity of pain in the lumbar spine; higher occurrence of pain in both hands or wrists; higher prevalence and more severe pain in at least one knee; and no prevalence or severity of pain in the shoulders and elbows.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum vitamin D concentration is important for the prevalence and severity of pain in the neck and thoracic spine, knees and hands or wrists, but not for the lumbar spine, shoulders and elbows.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raczkiewicz
authors.affiliation: Center for Public Health and Health Promotion, Institute of Rural Health in Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Owoc
authors.affiliation: Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, School of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Chair of Applied Pharmacy, Sosnowiec, Poland.
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sarecka-Hujar
authors.affiliation: Department for Woman Health, Institute of Rural Health in Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Iwona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bojar
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000383:Agriculture; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D011044:Poland; D017698:Postmenopause; D012307:Risk Factors; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D