Vitamin D malnutrition tied to back pain

Deficiency of Vitamin D in older women may lead to an increased risk of back pain. Among older people, vitamin D deficiency has been tied to a number of health problems such as high blood pressure, cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, depression and an increased risk of bone fracture. To investigate the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and musculoskeletal pain, researchers looked at the blood levels of vitamin D in 958 people, aged above 64 years of age. Fifty-eight percent of the women in the study, and 27 percent of the men, had at least some moderate pain in at least one region of the body. For men, no relationship was found between vitamin D levels and pain. Women with vitamin D deficiency, on the other hand, were nearly twice as likely to have back pain that was moderate or worse, but vitamin D status wasn't related to pain in other parts of the body. The increased risk of back pain in women than in men can be attributed to the fact that lack of vitamin D causes osteomalacia, or bone softening, which is more common in women and often manifests itself as low back pain. The researchers recommended randomised controlled trials before vitamin D supplementation can be widely given to older women for treating back pain.