Review Article

Vitamin D and Chronic Pain in Immigrant and Ethnic Minority Patients—Investigation of the Relationship and Comparison with Native Western Populations

Table 1

Characteristics of included studies.

ReferenceStudy typeLocationConditionStudy populationNumbers of immigrant/ethnic minority patients with painful conditions and data on vitamin D levels Mean 25-OH vitamin D (ng/mL) in immigrant/ethnic minority patientsOutcome of vitamin D treatment

Lowenthal and Shany 1994 [23]Case seriesBeer Sheva, IsraelOsteomalacia (with bone pain)Bedouin Arab women (an ethnic minority in Israel)124.1
Nellen et al.1996 [21]Case seriesAmsterdam, NetherlandsHypovitaminosis D osteopathy (with musculoskeletal pain)Immigrant women68.1Symptoms resolved in all patients
Plotnikoff and Quigley 2003 [24]Cross-sectional studyMinneapolis, Minnesota, USAMusculoskeletal painImmigrant and nonimmigrant patients8312.4
De Torrenté de la Jara et al. 2004 [22]Case seriesLausanne, SwitzerlandHypovitaminosis D (with musculoskeletal pain)Female asylum seekers114.4Pain disappeared in 10/11 within three months and in all patients within seven months
Benson et al. 2006 [3]Case-control studyAdelaide, AustraliaMuscle painAustralian Aborigines816.4
Helliwell et al. 2006 [25]Case-control studyLeeds, UKMusculoskeletal painPatients of South Asian ethnicity1276.9
Bartley 2008 [26]Cross-sectional studyAuckland, New ZealandChronic painEthnic minority and European ethnicity patients5821.2