A study has found that vitamin D supplements may not be an effective option for arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a progressive disease usually caused by aging joints, obesity and injury. Currently, there is no effective treatment for the condition and medication only reduces pain. The condition still progresses with time.

For the study, researchers from Australia examined vitamin D supplements’ effects on knee osteoarthritis and found that it didn’t help patients with the disease. It was ineffective even in those patients who had low levels of vitamin.

The findings suggest that vitamin D supplementation doesn’t help in slowing the disease progression or structural change in knee osteoarthritis, said Dr. Changhai Ding, University of Tasmania professor and lead author of the study.

During the study, some of the participants suffering from osteoarthritis were asked to use vitamin D supplements while others used a placebo. After over two years of follow-up, the researchers found that vitamin D didn’t have any beneficial effects.

More women suffer from knee osteoarthritis than men, as per the study. About 13% women report to have the disease, while 10% men aged 60 and older say they develop knee osteoarthritis. The study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study findings are not surprising, said Dr. Neil Roth of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Roth said, “Osteoarthritis is a progressive disease and any medications patients take, orally or injected, won't alter the disease. The best we can do without a joint replacement is to modify some of the symptoms”.

Doctors generally prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers to patients. Sometimes, they are asked to take cortisone injections, Dr. Roth said. These drugs do not help in stopping the disease, but could relieve some of its symptoms, he continued. The study results don’t mean people should stop taking vitamin D. They should take it to maintain bone mass, Roth suggested.