Panacea Index Logo

Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

The effect of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on pain prevalence and severity in older adults: a large-scale ancillary study of the VITamin D and OmegA-3 triaL (VITAL).

Pain
January 1, 1970
Mieke A Soens et al. (12 authors)
Randomized Controlled TrialJournal ArticleHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine whether dietary supplementation with vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids reduces the prevalence or severity of pain in older adults.

Results Summary

The study found no significant reduction in pain prevalence or severity with vitamin D or omega-3 supplementation compared to placebo, with odds ratios close to 1.0 and no interaction between the two treatments.

Population

25,871 older men and women in the U.S.

Effective Dosage

2000 IU/day of vitamin D

Duration

Median follow-up of 5.3 years

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (5)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
A diet supplemented with vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids
decrease
painful disorders
-
-
may prevent and treat
#1
A diet supplemented with vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids
increase
the resolution of inflammation
-
-
promoting
#2
vitamin D (2000 IU/day) and omega-3 supplementation (1 g/day)
no change
pain
middle-aged and older U.S. adults
-
did not result in a lower prevalence or severity
#3
vitamin D supplementation
no change
pain prevalence or severity
25,871 older men and women
0.99 ([CI] 0.94-1.05)
ORs for higher pain prevalence or severity
#4
omega-3 supplementation
no change
pain prevalence or severity
25,871 older men and women
0.99 ([CI] 0.94-1.04)
ORs for higher pain prevalence or severity
#5
Abstract

A diet supplemented with vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids may prevent and treat painful disorders by promoting the resolution of inflammation. However, large, randomized placebo-controlled trials evaluating the effects of supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D on the presence and severity of pain are lacking. VITamin D and OmegA-3 triaL-Pain (VITAL-Pain) is an ancillary study to the VITAL trial, a large randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D (2000 IU/day) and omega-3 supplementation (1 g/day) over 5.3 years of median follow-up, among 25,871 older men and women. We assessed pain among those reaching the end of the VITAL intervention phase using questions from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. We used ordinal logistic regression to test the effect of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids on the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval [CI] of reporting higher pain prevalence or severity. Overall, 19,611 participants provided complete pain information at the end of the VITAL trial. The ORs for higher pain prevalence or severity for vitamin D and omega-3 supplementation vs placebo were 0.99 ([CI] 0.94-1.05) and 0.99 ([CI] 0.94-1.04), respectively. There was no interaction between the 2 active treatments. Dietary supplementation with commonly used moderate doses of vitamin D or omega-3 fatty acids over a median of 5.3 years did not result in a lower prevalence or severity of pain in middle-aged and older U.S. adults.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
MaleMiddle AgedHumansFemaleAgedVitamin DFatty Acids, Omega-3PrevalenceVitaminsCholecalciferolDietary SupplementsDouble-Blind MethodPain
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy20/10
Quality85/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations5
Citations/Year5.0
Relative Citation Ratio2.16
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score1.63
Normalized Score0.45
Related Supplements
The effect of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplementati... | Panacea Index