ArticleBMC rheumatology2021
Vitamin D and its association with symptom severity in knee osteoarthritis: a cross sectional study at a national referral hospital in Uganda.
Article in BMC rheumatology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06267053 (Investigation of the Relationship Between Vitamin B12, Folic Acid and 25 OH D Levels and Radiologic Stage in Knee Osteoarthritis), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
Investigation of the Relationship Between Vitamin B12, Folic Acid and 25 OH D Levels and Radiologic Stage in Knee Osteoarthritis
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rheumatology capacity building for health care providers in Uganda: an ILAR project report.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Assessment of WOMAC index for knee osteoarthritis and its association with serum vitamin - D and serum cytokine profile.Bioinformation · 2025Article
- The association of vitamin D with knee osteoarthritis pain: an analysis from the Osteoarthritis Initiative database.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Current Evidence on and Clinical Implications of Vitamin D Levels in Pain and Functional Management of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.Clinics and practice · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent among patients with osteoarthritis. It is associated with joint pain, stiffness and worse physical function. Whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with osteoarthritis is controversial. We investigated serum vitamin D levels and its association with symptom severity in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
methodsBetween January 2020 to March and May 2020, we conducted a cross sectional study at a national referral hospital in Uganda. Using the American College of Rheumatology clinical criteria, 107 consenting adults were diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. A questionnaire captured patient demographics and clinical characteristics. Joint pain, stiffness and physical function severity were assessed and graded based on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). We determined serum vitamin D levels by electrochemilumniscence immunoassay. The data were analysed and adjusted for age, sex, education, occupation, family history, body mass index (BMI) and calcium supplementation.
resultsOf the 107 patients, 92 (86%) patients were females, mean (SD) age was 58.1 (12.6) years. Nearly 65% of the patients had suboptimal serum vitamin D levels < 30 ng/ml. The median (Q1, Q3) WOMAC joint scores were as follows: pain 8.0 (5, 11), stiffness 1 (0, 2), physical function 29.0 (16, 41) and total WOMAC 39.0 (21, 54). Spearman correlations between serum vitamin D levels with symptom severity were as follows: joint pain (r = 0.18, p = 0.06), stiffness (r = 0.13, p = 0.17), physical function (r = 0.09, p = 0.36) and total WOMAC (r = 0.13, p = 0.19).
conclusionSerum vitamin D levels are not associated with joint pain, stiffness and physical function severity. Older age and higher BMI are associated with vitamin D deficiency in patients with knee osteoarthritis attending a national referral hospital rheumatology clinic in Uganda. Suboptimal vitamin D is an independent risk factor for total mortality in the general population. Clinical guidelines and further studies to determine age and BMI ranges required for vitamin D screening are needed in patients with osteoarthritis in Uganda. Patients are advised to keep a normal BMI.
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