OFF TOPIC - Mayo Clinic study suggests those who have chronic pain may need to assess vitamin D status

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Mayo Clinic study suggests those who have chronic pain may need to

assess vitamin D status

 

Science Centric

22 March 2009 16:00 GMT

Mayo Clinic research shows a correlation between inadequate

vitamin D levels and the amount of narcotic medication taken by patients who

have chronic pain. This correlation is an important finding as researchers

discover new ways to treat chronic pain. According to the Centres for Disease

Control and Prevention, chronic pain is the leading cause of disability in the

United States. These patients often end up taking narcotic-type pain medication

such as morphine, fentanyl or oxycodone.

This study found that

patients who required narcotic pain medication, and who also had inadequate

levels of vitamin D, were taking much higher doses of pain medication - nearly

twice as much - as those who had adequate levels. Similarly, these patients

self-reported worse physical functioning and worse overall health perception.

In addition, a correlation was noted between increasing body mass index (a

measure of obesity) and decreasing levels of vitamin D. Study results were

published in a recent edition of Pain Medicine.

'This is an important

finding as we continue to investigate the causes of chronic pain,' says Michael

Turner, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Mayo Clinic

and lead author of the study. 'Vitamin D is known to promote both bone and

muscle strength. Conversely, deficiency is an under-recognised source of diffuse

pain and impaired neuromuscular functioning. By recognising it, physicians can

significantly improve their patients' pain, function and quality of life.'

Researchers retrospectively

studied 267 chronic pain patients admitted to the Mayo Comprehensive Pain

Rehabilitation Centre in Rochester from February to December 2006. Vitamin D

levels at the time of admission were compared to other parameters such as the

amount and duration of narcotic pain medication usage; self-reported levels of

pain, emotional distress, physical functioning and health perception; and

demographic information such as gender, age, diagnosis and body mass index.

Further research should

document the effects of correcting deficient levels among these patients,

researchers recommend.

This study has important

implications for both chronic pain patients and physicians. 'Though

preliminary, these results suggest that patients who suffer from chronic,

diffuse pain and are on narcotics should consider getting their vitamin D

levels checked. Inadequate levels may play a role in creating or sustaining

their pain,' says Dr Turner.

'Physicians who care for

patients with chronic, diffuse pain that seems musculoskeletal - and involves

many areas of tenderness to palpation - should strongly consider checking a

vitamin D level,' he says. 'For example, many patients who have been labelled

with fibromyalgia are, in fact, suffering from symptomatic vitamin D

inadequacy. Vigilance is especially required when risk factors are present such

as obesity, darker pigmented skin or limited exposure to sunlight.'

Assessment and treatment

are relatively simple and inexpensive. Levels can be assessed by a simple blood

test (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]). Under the guidance of a physician, an

appropriate repletion regimen can then be devised. Because it is a natural

substance and not a drug, vitamin D is readily available and inexpensive.

In

addition to the benefits of strong muscles and bones, emerging research

demonstrates that vitamin D plays important roles in the immune system, helps

fight inflammation and helps fights certain types of cancer.

Story from Science Centric | News

http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09032206-mayo-clinic-study-suggests-those-who-have-chronic-pain-may-need-assess-vitamin-d-status

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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