Vitamin D and Chronic Widespread Pain (e.g., Fibromyalgia)

Vitamin D deficiency has been found to be very common in chronic pain. This study looked at vitamin D levels in 6,824 white British adults who were 45 years old. Chronic Widespread Pain (CWP) was present in 14.6% of those with a vitamin D level (25 OHD) under < 25 nmol/l, 14.7% for a vitamin D level of 25-49 nmol/l, 11.5% for 50-74 nmo/l, 7.7% for 75-99 nmol/l, and 9.7% for participants with > 100 nmol/l. That means those with a low vitamin D level had almost twice the risk of having widespread pain (and likely also fibromyalgia). This connection was only found in women (3/4 of those with fibromyalgia are women).

I recommend that those with chronic pain or fibromyalgia take 2,000 units of vitamin D a day. You can also get vitamin D by going outside and getting sunshine, which is how your body gets 90% of its vitamin D. Remember. Get sunshine—not sunburn!

For more information on vitamin D deficiency, see Vitamin D Could Save Your Life!

References

Vitamin D and chronic widespread pain in a white middle-aged British population: evidence from a cross-sectional population survey. Ann Rheum Dis. Published Online First: 12 August 2008. doi:10.1136/ard.2008.090456. Kate Atherton,¹ Diane J Berry,¹ Tessa Parsons,¹ Gary J Macfarlane,² Chris Power¹ and Elina Hypponen¹*