Abstract :

Background: Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease commonly affecting the knee and often begins with joint pain or arthralgia. Vitamin D deficiency has been suggested as a contributing factor to musculoskeletal pain and cartilage metabolism disorders. Indoor workers may be at increased risk due to limited sunlight exposure and prolonged sitting duration.

Objective: To compare serum vitamin D levels between arthralgia and non-arthralgia groups among indoor workers with suspected knee osteoarthritis in Kupang City.

Methods: An observational analytic study with a cross-sectional design was conducted among 46 indoor workers from several government institutions in Kupang City. Participants were assessed through anamnesis, body mass index measurement, and evaluation of knee pain using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured using the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) method. Subjects were classified into arthralgia and non-arthralgia groups. Data were analyzed using the independent t-test.

Results: All participants were female, aged 18–59 years. Of the 46 respondents, 22 were classified as having arthralgia and 24 as non-arthralgia. A significant difference in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels was observed between the two groups (p < 0.05). The arthralgia group showed a lower mean serum vitamin D level (17.2 ± 2.94 ng/mL) with a mean VAS score of 5.83, indicating moderate pain. In contrast, the non-arthralgia group had a higher mean serum vitamin D level (24.1 ± 2.51 ng/mL) with a VAS score of 0.

Conclusion: There was a significant difference in serum vitamin D levels between arthralgia and non-arthralgia indoor workers with suspected knee osteoarthritis in Kupang City, with lower vitamin D levels observed in the arthralgia group.

---

Keywords :

Arthralgia, Indoor Workers, osteoarthritis, Serum Vitamin D, Vitamin D deficiency.

---

References :

1. World Health Organization. Osteoarthritis [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Apr 17]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/osteoarthritis
2. Ackerman IN, Kemp JL, Crossley KM, Culvenor AG, Hinman RS. Hip and knee osteoarthritis affects younger people, too. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2017;47(2):67–79.
3. Textbook of Internal Medicine. 3rd ed. 2010.
4. Hardin JOEG. Arthralgia. 2020;757–8.
5. Sizar O, Khare S, Goyal A, Givler A. Vitamin D deficiency. In: Endocrinology, Diabetes: A Problem-Oriented Approach [Internet]. 2023 Jul 17 [cited 2024 Apr 18]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532266/
6. Wu Z, Malihi Z, Stewart AW, Lawes CMM, Scragg R. The association between vitamin D concentration and pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Public Health Nutr. 2018;21(11):2022–37.
7. Relationship between unexplained arthralgia and vitamin D deficiency: a case–control study [Internet]. [cited 2024 Apr 18]. Available from: https://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/view/4606/4431
8. Santoso AH, Yanti D, Silaban L, Charissa O. Preliminary mapping of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk factors for vitamin D deficiency among young adults in West Jakarta. Tarumanagara Medical Journal. 2023;5.
9. Astariyani T. Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and pain severity in osteoarthritis. 2021.
10. d’Errico A, Fontana D, Sebastiani G, Ardito C. Risk of symptomatic osteoarthritis associated with exposure to ergonomic factors at work in a nationwide Italian survey. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2023;96(1):143–54.
11. Voinier D, Neogi T, Master H, Thoma LM, Brunette M, Jakiela J, et al. Sitting may increase risk for radiographic incidence and progression of knee osteoarthritis over 2 years: data from a large cohort study. Musculoskeletal Care. 2023;21(4):1075–84.
12. Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, Oatis C, Guyatt G, Block J, et al. 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation guideline for the management of osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020;72(2):220–33.
13. GBD 2019 Osteoarthritis Collaborators. Global prevalence and years lived with disability for osteoarthritis in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019. Lancet Rheumatol. 2020;2(10):e632–44.
14. DeLuca HF. Overview of general physiologic features and functions of vitamin D. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80(6 Suppl):1689S–1696S.
15. Charoenngam N, Holick MF. Immunologic effects of vitamin D on human health and disease. Nutrients. 2020;12(7):2097.
16. Antony B, Ding C. Vitamin D deficiency in joint pain: effects of vitamin D supplementation. In: Nutrition and Modulation of Pain in the Aging Population. 2017. p. 183–9.
17. Hunter DJ, Bierma-Zeinstra S. Osteoarthritis. Lancet. 2019;393(10182):1745–59.