Maintaining Vitamin D Sufficiency Is Associated with Improved Structural and Symptomatic Outcomes in Knee Osteoarthritis

Zheng S, Jin X, Cicuttini F, et al. · The American Journal of Medicine

Participants who stayed vitamin-D sufficient lost less tibial cartilage (~2.1% less loss), had less increase in effusion-synovitis volume (-2.5 mL difference) and better preserved physical function than the consistently insufficient group.

Population

Knee OA patients with baseline vitamin D insufficiency (completers of the Tasmanian VIDEO RCT), 24 months

Intervention

Consistently sufficient serum 25(OH)D (>50 nmol/L at months 3 and 24) regardless of assigned arm

Comparator

Consistently insufficient 25(OH)D

Limitations

Post-hoc observational re-analysis of a null RCT — sufficiency was not randomized, so healthier-adherer bias applies; hypothesis-generating only.