Health authorities should not fund two popular supplements taken to counteract joint pain because they do not work, researchers say today.
Research carried out in Switzerland has concluded that while glucosamine and chondroitin are not dangerous to health, they do not provide any medical relief from symptoms of osteoarthritis in hips and knees.
Writing in the British Medical Journal on-line, Professor Peter Jüni, of the University of Bern, said although many people believed the supplements were beneficial, it might be because of the natural course of osteoarthritis or the placebo effect.
He and his colleagues analysed the results of ten published trials involving 3,803 patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis. They assessed changes in levels of pain after patients took glucosamine, chondroitin, or their combination with placebo or head to head.
They found no clinically relevant effect of chondroitin, glucosamine, or their combination on perceived joint pain or on joint space narrowing.
“Compared with placebo, glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not reduce joint pain or have an impact on narrowing of joint space,” says the report.
“Health authorities and health insurers should be discouraged from funding glucosamine and chondroitin treatment.”
Glucosamine and chondroitin have been increasingly prescribed by GPs and rheumatologists over the past ten years, while millions more buy the supplements over the counter.
Global sales of glucosamine supplements reached almost US $2 billion in 2008 – a 60 per cent rise from 2003.
“We see no harm in having patients continue these preparations as long as they perceive a benefit and cover the cost of treatment themselves,” added Prof Jüni.
British Medical Journal on-line September 17 2010
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