Posted on 11 October 2022

Low vitamin D causes rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, say experts

Vitamin D deficiency is a leading cause of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, scientists have established in an evidence review published in Nature. Post-menopausal women were at the highest risk of suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, say experts.

People with rheumatoid arthritis patients are more than twice as likely to have osteoporosis than the general population, figures show. Scientists understand the link, but the relationship is little understood.

In the study, researchers analysed 57 studies, and examined the case histories of almost 300,000 people rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis to explore links between the conditions.

The found that people with rheumatoid arthritis had lower levels of vitamin D than the general population. “The results of a meta-analysis study showed that vitamin D deficiency in RA patients is significantly higher than healthy individuals,” the scientists found.

The impact of vitamin D deficiency is stark, they find. “Decreased vitamin D intake is associated with an increased risk of RA, and also, vitamin D deficiency is associated with disease activity in patients with RA.”

The lesson from the data is that “vitamin D deficiency can be one of the common causes of RA and OP.”

The research found that post-menopausal women were most at risk of suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. It’s likely to be the result of oestrogen levels falling during the menopause.

Thankfully, the authors find that the numbers of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is falling across the world. They attribute this to a greater awareness of the symptoms – including vitamin D deficiency – as well as the effectiveness of treatments.

Vitamin D deficiency can be linked to a range of conditions, including bone loss and depression. Experts advise that all post-menopausal women take a vitamin D supplement each day, alongside making changes to diet and lifestyle.

The NHS recommends that all of us take a vitamin D supplement each day between October and March. Why? It’s because most of the vitamin D that our bodies create comes from exposure to the sun – and in the UK, that’s hard during autumn, winter and spring.

If you’re worried about vitamin D deficiency it can be hard to find information you need. This is why we created our guide to how much vitamin D (and calcium) you need.

At Stronger Bones, we’ve got a huge range of vitamin D supplements from the some of the UK’s leading brands, including Solgar, BetterYou, Vitabiotics and Higher Nature.

As well as daily supplement capsules, you can also find a range of vitamin D sprays, drops and gummies. (And if you’re worried about do vitamin D sprays work, we can assure you that they do!)

You can find our entire range of vitamin D supplements for sale in our shop at the lowest prices on the internet. Spend over £25 and postage is free.

There’s no excuse not to get the vitamin D you need every day!