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Vitamin D deficiency is associated with ethnicity and knee pain in a multi‐ethnic South‐East Asian nation: Results from Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research ( MEL oR)
Author(s) -
Mat Sumaiyah,
Jaafar Mohamad Hasif,
Sockalingam Sargunan,
Raja Jasmin,
Kamaruzzaman Shahrul Bahyah,
Chin AiVyrn,
Abbas Azlina Amir,
Chan Chee Ken,
Hairi Noran Naqiah,
Othman Sajaratulnisah,
Cumming Robert,
Tan Maw Pin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
international journal of rheumatic diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1756-185X
pISSN - 1756-1841
DOI - 10.1111/1756-185x.13279
Subject(s) - medicine , vitamin d and neurology , vitamin d deficiency , odds ratio , ethnic group , confidence interval , vitamin , knee pain , cross sectional study , longitudinal study , physical therapy , osteoarthritis , pathology , alternative medicine , sociology , anthropology
Aim To determine the association between vitamin D and knee pain among participants of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research ( MEL oR) study. Method This was a cross‐sectional study from the MEL oR study consisting of a representative group of 1011 community‐dwelling older persons (57% female), mean age 86.5 (54–94) years; 313 were Malays, 367 Chinese and 330 Indians. Participants were asked if they had knee pain. Levels of serum 25‐hydroxy cholecalciferol (25‐[ OH ]D), an indicator of vitamin D status, were measured using routine laboratory techniques. Results In unadjusted analysis, presence of knee pain was significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency (odds ratio [ OR ] 1.42; 95% confidence interval ( CI ) 1.08–1.85, P 0.011). Vitamin D levels were significantly associated with ethnicity differences where Malays ( OR 7.08; 95% CI 4.94–10.15) and Indians ( OR 6.10; 95% CI 4.28–9.71) have lower levels of vitamin D compared to Chinese. Subsequent multivariate analysis revealed that the association between vitamin D deficiency and knee pain was confounded by ethnic differences. Conclusion A previous study suggested that vitamin D deficiency was associated with knee pain. This relationship was reproduced in our study, but we further established that the association was explained by ethnic variations. As vitamin D status is dependent on skin tone, diet and sunlight exposure, which are all effected by ethnicity, future studies are now required to determine whether a true relationship exists between vitamin D and knee pain.