Pain-free aging
- Vitamin D reduced chronic pain in older adults
Many older adults live with chronic pain as they age, most commonly in the lower back. In this study, doctors measured vitamin D in the diets of 950 adults aged at least 60. Participants reported the severity, frequency, and location of pain, with 55 percent reporting none, and 45 percent reporting mild to severe levels.
Over the five-year study period, those who got more vitamin D from diet were less likely to experience chronic pain than those who consumed less vitamin D. Doctors found that for each 40 IU increase in daily vitamin D, chances for chronic pain were 12 percent lower. Those who got more than 140.8 IU of vitamin D per day were 51 percent less likely to have chronic pain compared to those who got less than 74 IU of vitamin D per day.
Discussing the findings, doctors said that even a slight increase in daily dietary vitamin D could reduce chronic pain over five years.
REFERENCE: NUTRIENTS; SEPTEMBER 2022, VOL. 14, NO. 18, 3776
