Observational studyPloS one2015
Low vitamin D levels are associated with higher opioid dose in palliative cancer patients--results from an observational study in Sweden.
Observational study in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05450419 (The Role of Vitamin D3 Supplementation in Advanced Cancer Patients With Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Role of Vitamin D3 Supplementation in Advanced Cancer Patients With Pain
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association between vitamin D concentration and pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Public health nutrition · 2018Pooled it
- Pooled it
- 25-Hydroxyvitamin D in Cancer Patients Admitted to Palliative Care: A Post-Hoc Analysis of the Swedish Trial 'Palliative-D'.Nutrients · 2022Trial
- Vitamin D supplementation improves well-being in patients with frequent respiratory tract infections: a post hoc analysis of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.BMC research notes · 2015Trial
- Role of vitamin D in the management of chronic pain after gastrointestinal surgery.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2025Review
- Potential roles for vitamin D in preventing and treating impulse control disorders, behavioral addictions, and substance use disorders: A scoping review.Addiction neuroscience · 2025Article
- Baseline Vitamin D Levels on Quality of Life and Pain Perception Among Patients with Chronic Pain with Long-Term Prescription Opioid Use: A Prospective Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Serum vitamin D le Serum vitamin D levels are associated with acute post e associated with acute postoperative pain and opioid analgesic consumption after laparoscopic cholecystect cholecystectomy: a str omy: a strobe compliant pr obe compliant prospectiv ospective obser e observational ational study.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2023Observational
- Article
- Preoperative Vitamin D Level is Associated with Acute Pain After Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of pain research · 2022Article
- Successful Strategies and Areas of Improvement-Lessons Learned from Design and Conduction of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial in Palliative Care, 'Palliative-D'.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- CYP3A Activity in End-of-Life Cancer Patients Measured by 4β-Hydroxycholesterol/cholesterol Ratio, in Men and Women.Cancers · 2021Article
- Article
- Vitamin D deficiency exacerbates UV/endorphin and opioid addiction.Science advances · 2021Article
- Perioperative Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels as a Predictor of Postoperative Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder: a Cohort Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2020Article
- Determination of vitamin D and analysis of risk factors for osteoporosis in patients with chronic pain.World journal of clinical cases · 2020Article
- Sleep and pain: recent insights, mechanisms, and future directions in the investigation of this relationship.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2020Review
- Genome-Wide Association Study of Opioid Cessation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Article
- Vitamin D and Its Potential Interplay With Pain Signaling Pathways.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Review
- Differences in discontinuation of statin treatment in women and men with advanced cancer disease.Biology of sex differences · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVitamin D deficiency is common among palliative cancer patients and has been connected to an increased risk for pain, depressions and infections. Therefore we wanted to test the hypothesis that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels are associated with higher opioid dose, higher infectious burden and impaired quality of life in palliative cancer patients. The secondary aim was to investigate the association between 25OHD-levels and survival time.
methodIn this prospective, observational study in palliative cancer-patients (n = 100) we performed univariate and multiple linear regression analysis to assess the association of 25OHD levels with opioid dose, infectious burden (antibiotic consumption), quality of life (Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, ESAS) and survival time, controlling for potential confounding factors.
resultsThe median 25OHD level was 40 nmol/L (range 8-154 nmol/L). There was a significant association between 25OHD levels and opioid dose, beta coefficient -0.67; p=0.02; i.e. a low 25OHD level was associated with a higher opioid dose. This association remained significant after adjustment for stage of the cancer disease in a multivariate analysis, beta coefficient -0.66; p = 0.04. There was no association between 25OHD levels and antibiotic use or quality of life. Univariate cox regression analysis showed a weak correlation between survival time and 25OHD levels (p<0.05). However, decreased albumin levels and increased CRP levels were superior markers to predict survival time; p<0.001 for both analyses.
conclusionLow 25OHD-levels are associated with increased opioid consumption in palliative cancer patients. Future interventional studies are needed to investigate if pain can be reduced by vitamin D supplementation in these patients. In addition, this study confirms previous findings that low albumin and increased CRP levels are useful markers for survival time in palliative cancer patients.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.