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Poster #13
Category: Junior Faculty Social Science/Clinical/Behavioral
LOW 25(OH)D CONCENTRATIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT PAIN IN OLDER WOMEN, BUT NOT MEN: FINDINGS FROM THE IN CHIANTI STUDY
Hicks GE, Shardell M, Miller RR, Bandinelli S, Guralnik JM, Cherubini A, Lauretani F, Ferrucci L
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, School of Medicine
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Background: Since musculoskeletal pain is associated with the progression of disability in older adults, a clearer understanding of the mechanisms that influence pain is needed in order to develop effective interventions. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] are associated with the presence of significant pain and examined whether this relationship differs by sex.
Methods: Data were from the In CHIANTI study, a population-based study performed in a sample of community-dwelling older (> or =65 years) persons living in Italy. This analysis included 969 participants (539 women/430 men) with complete data on 25(OH)D and pain levels at baseline. Pain was categorized as: a) mild or no pain in the lower extremeties (LE) and axial skeleton (AS), b) moderate to severe AS pain, no LE pain, c) moderate to severe LE pain, no AS pain, and d) moderate to severe pain in both LE and AS. 25(OH)D was divided into sex-specific quintiles.
Results: Fifty-eight percent of women had at least moderate pain in some location compared to 27% of men. The cut points for the lowest quintiles of 25(OH)D were 20.5 and 29.9nmol/L for women and men respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, the lowest quintile of 25(OH)D concentration was associated with a significantly higher risk of AS pain in women (odds ratio = 2.10; 95% CI, 1.06-4.16), but not men.
Conclusions: Lower concentrations of 25(OH)D are associated with higher pain levels in older women, but not men.
