Vitamin D status in patients with musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and headache: A cross-sectional descriptive study in a multi-ethnic general practice in Norway

Figures & data

Table I. Number (%) of patients according to gender, location of pain, and region of origin.

	Norway^a (n = 249)	Europe, America, Southeast Asia^b (n = 83)	Middle East, Africa, and South Asia^c (n = 240)
Gender
Male	61 (24)	27 (32)	78 (32)
Female	188 (76)	56 (68)	162 (68)
Headache	19 (8)	9 (11)	35 (15)
Local pain	110 (44)	40 (48)	120 (50)
Fatigue, general pain	120 (48)	34 (41)	85 (35)

Notes: ^aNorwegians for more than two generations. ^bEurope, North and South America, Southeast Asia with Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and China. ^cThe Middle East with Turkey, South Asia with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India, and Africa.

Table II. Number (%) of patients with and without hypovitaminosis D according to region of origin and gender.

	Norway (n = 249)		Europe, America, Southeast Asia (n = 83)		Middle East, Africa and South Asia (n = 240)
	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
Adeqate vitamin D
25(OH)D ≥ 50 nmol/L	35 (57)	128 (68)	13 (48)	22 (39)	13 (17)	27 (17)
Hypovitaminosis D
25(OH)D < 50nmol/L	26 (43)	60 (32)	14 (52)	34 (61)	65 (83)	135 (83)
< 30nmol/L	7 (12)	13 (7)	6 (22)	11 (20)	35 (45)	105 (65)
< 25nmol/L	3 (5)	11 (6)	5 (19)	5 (9)	25 (32)	79 (49)

Table III. Mean (95% CI) vitamin D (25(OH)D in nmol/L) levels in patients according to region of origin, gender, and symptoms.

	All (n = 572)	Norway (n = 249)	Europe, America, Southeast Asia (n = 83)	Middle East, Africa and South Asia (n = 240)
	Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)
All	47 (45–50)	63 (60–63)	46 (41–50)	32 (30–35)
Male	46 (42–50)	61 (54–68)	46 (38–54)	34 (30–37)
Female	48 (46–51)	64 (60–67)	45 (40–51)	31 (28–34)
Headache	35 (30–40)^1	51 (39–63)^2	36 (25–47)^3	27 (22–31)^4
Local musculoskeletal pain	49 (45–52)	65 (60–70)	49 (42–56)	33 (30–37)
Fatigue and general musculoskeletal pain	50 (46–53)	63 (58–68)	44 (38–51)	32 (28–37)

Notes: Differences in mean level of vitamin D between patients with headache and local pain were ¹p < 0.001, ²p = 0.030, ³p = 0.094, ⁴p = 0.060. The corresponding differences between vitamin D levels in patients with headache and general pain were p < 0.001, p = 0.054, p = 0.092, and p = 0.095.

Table IV. Mean (95% CI) vitamin D (25(OH)D in nmol/L) levels during two seasons among patients from different geographical regions.

	Norway n = 249	Europe, America, Southeast Asia n = 83	Middle East, Africa and South Asia n = 240
	Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)	Mean (95% CI)
Summer–fall June 1–Nov 30 (n = 256)	72 (67–77)^1	50 (44–57)^2	35 (31–39)^3
Winter–spring Dec 1–May 31 (n = 316)	56 (53–60)	41 (36–47)	29 (27–32)

Note: Differences in mean vitamin D level between seasons were: ¹p < 0.001, ²p = 0.047, ³p = 0.021.