1. Sumaiyah Mat1, Mohamad Hasif Jaafar1, Tan Maw Pin1,2
Vitamin D Deficiency is Associated with Ethnicity and Knee Pain Severity in a Multi-ethnic South East Asian Nation
Sumaiyah Mat1, Mohamad Hasif Jaafar1, Tan Maw Pin1,2
1Ageing and Age-Associated Disorders Research Group, University of Malaya;
2Geriatric Unit, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya .
Results
Introduction
Data from 1010 subjects were analysed in this study
Reduced circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D have been correlated with many health conditions, including chronic pain. Previous studies mainly from Northern America and Europe have suggested with darker skin tones are associated with vitamin D deficiency which may mediate observed differences in joint pain.
The ethnic groups with darker skin tones, Malays and Indians, had significantly lower levels of vitamin D compared to the ethnic Chinese
The former two ethnic groups were also more likely to report the presence of knee pain (p<.001)
Objective
To examine whether variations in vitamin D levels contribute to ethnic differences in knee pain in our Asian population
Low levels of vitamin D predicted increased risk of self-reported knee pain.
In the mediation analysis, group differences in vitamin D however did not predicted group differences in pain severity, after adjustment for confounders.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional study from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study consisting of 1010 representative groups of community dwelling older persons (57% female), aged 86.5 (54-94) years. 313 were ethnic Malays, 367 Chinese and 330 Indians. Participants were asked if they had knee pain and the severity symptoms of knee pain were measured on a visual analogue scale. Levels of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25-(OH)D], the ideal indicator of vitamin D status, were measured using routine laboratory techniques.
Conclusions
Difference in Vitamin D did not mediate the ethnic differences in knee pain.
Our study therefore challenges the findings of a recent study conducted in Florida suggesting that the vitamin D differences with skin tone accounted for differences in knee pain between individuals with different ethnic groups. 1 1 1