Abstract :
Osteoarthritis is a multifactorial disease representing a great burden especially for elderly. Currently, a great interest is given to evaluate the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. In this study, our interest was focused on the evaluation of the association of vitamin D deficiency and the development of various osteoarthritis forms in a Moroccan sample of patients with osteoarthritis. A total of 1407 patients (1142 women and 265 men) with confirmed osteoarthritis. Detailed information on general health status, height, weight, menopausal status, exposition to sun and specific physical activities was collected. Vitamin D and calcemia statutes were assessed for all recruited patients. In this study, gonarthrosis was reported as the most prevalent osteoarthritis form and was found in 67.93% of patients. The mean vitamin D concentration was 14.86±4.75 ng/ml 15.12±4.76 ng/ml in men and 14.80±4.75 ng/ml in women. Serum vitamin D status was deficient, insufficient and sufficient in 362 (25.73%), 872 (61.98%) and 173 (12.29%) patients, respectively. In all osteoarthritis forms, results showed that most patients had vitamin D insufficiency. Moreover, a significant association was obtained between vitamin D status and exposition to sun (p = 0.015). Of particular interest, most patients with osteoarthritis have normal levels of calcium (90.41%, 1272/1407) and only 9.59% of patients were hypocalcemic (135/1407), whereas none recruited patient has shown hypercalcemic profile. In conclusion, vitamin D deficiency seems to be highly associated with osteoarthritis pathogenesis in Moroccan patients. Therefore, there’s an urgent need to set-up a national strategy promoting vitamin D supplementation that will prevent osteoarthritis development and reduce the disease burden.
