Ximena Villarroel

Can vitamin K support bone health in patients who suffer from Arthritis?

Arthritis affects more than 50% of the American population and one out of 250
children (1); this alarming percentage makes it relevant for anyone going in to the health
field. My personal connection and own reasoning as to why I find it so important is I
suffer from arthritis. Also, every woman in family does as well, and this disease has not
skipped a single member thus far. As an issue that is very concerning to my family we
are constantly looking for new forms of pain prevention and treatments. How I came
across my question was through word of mouth. I had heard several rumors that vitamin
k could do miracles to bone tissues. I immediately became interested in the subject and
wanted to know more. My pico question is can Vitamin K support bone health in patients
who suffer from Arthritis? Vitamin K is primarily known for blood coagulation; however it
has been in question that vitamin k may also help with bone loss (2). There are several
studies that are being done.
First we must ask the question of what is vitamin K? Vitamin K is an oil based
vitamin. This vitamin serves the body acting as a coagulating agent, but another
important factor is that vitamin k is needed to use calcium to build in the body (2).
There are studies being done that signal that vitamin K supports bone health, by
preventing fractures and avoiding bone loss density. Individuals that have higher bone
density have shown to also have higher vitamin K levels.
Second, we must ask; what is arthritis? Essentially the definition simply means
joint inflammation. The health world uses this term when referring to the joints
themselves and the surrounding tissue area. Joint inflammation is caused by the

Ximena Villarroel

breakdown of cartilage .When the proper amount of cartilage is not present bones rub
together causing, stiffness, pain, and inflammation (3). There are is over 100 different
types of arthritis affecting all age groups (3). This is an extremely painful disease that
affects a great amount of our population making it a public health concern (4). The most
common form of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis publicly also known as RA.
Furthermore, bringing us back into our original question; can vitamin K support
bone health in patients who suffer from arthritis? There was a study done in 2000 in
Toronto Canada that asked a similar question. However the study done in Canada was
a bit more specific as the targeted population was post menopausal women that
suffered from one specific type of arthritis. This study was a double blinded study; 6587
women were eligible for the study, and out of those 6587, 440 women were randomly
chosen to participate in the study (5). In the study 217 took 5mg of vitamin k daily and
223 took the placebo (5). The study had a time frame of one year, and then a follow up
2 years later to look at long term effects of the vitamin k vs. those that had taken the
placebo. Like other studies not all participants made it to the four year full mark due to
several reasons such as personal reasons, heart failure, and death due to car
accidents.
The study however did come to the following findings. Vitamin K does not
support bone health in patients who suffer from arthritis. It unfortunately cannot reverse
damage that has been made to the bones and surrounding tissues. They saw no
difference in the candidates who had taken the placebo vs. those that took the 5mg of
vitamin k for the entire 2 yrs. However, in their findings they did come to this conclusion
as well; vitamin k may protect against fractures and certain types of cancers. In the
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placebo group 20 women had fractures vs. those that were taking the vitamin k only
nine had obtained fractures. Also, only 3 women had acquired cancer taking the vitamin
k supplement vs. the 10 that acquired it while taking the placebo. The primary outcomes
were changes in the spine and hips. Although the findings of this study were not as
what been anticipated, more research needs to be done (5).
In another study that was conducted in the Japan College of rheumatology
similar results were found as to the results found in the study done in Canada. Unlike
the study done in Canada the study that was done in Japan was done in a smaller
scale. There were only 158 participants and they all suffered from rheumatoid arthritis.
Like the study that was conducted in Canada the targeted population was also females.
In the study 88 females received the placebo and 70 received. The allotted dosage for
the females that were receiving vitamin k was 4.8mg per day. Also in this study it was
clearly stated that women that participated in the study were still taking their original
medications for rheumatoid arthritis. The results of the study showed that vitamin k does
not reverse the damage that has been done from arthritis, nor does it slow down the
process. However they did see a decrease in fractures in patients who had taken the
vitamin k supplementation (6).
The data was taken from the several tests such as blood examinations, and xrays taken before and after the study was conducted. The x-rays were taken in several
parts of the body to allow for more accurate results. Towards the conclusion of the study
it was stated that more research needs to be done in the subject field (6).

Ximena Villarroel

References
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data and Statistics
Website.http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics.htm. Accessed October
31,2013
2. Ahmadieh H, Arabi A. Vitamins and bone health: beyond calcium and vitamin
D. Nutrition Reviews [serial online]. October 2011;69(10):584-598. Available
from: SPORTDiscus with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 21, 2013
3. Pubmed Health Arthritis Website.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002223/. Accessed November
14, 2013.
4. Schneider M, Krger K. Rheumatoid Arthritis--Early Diagnosis and Disease
Management. Deutsches Aerzteblatt International [serial online]. July 8,
2013;110(27/28):477-484. Available from: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Ipswich,
MA. Accessed October 21, 2013.
5. Cheung A, Tile L, Josse R, et al. Vitamin K Supplementation in Postmenopausal
Women with Osteopenia (ECKO Trial): A Randomized Controlled Trial. Plos
Medicine [serial online]. October 2008;5(10):1461-1472. Available from:
Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 20, 2013.
6. Ebina K, Shi K, Hashimoto J, et al. Vitamin K2 administration is associated with
decreased disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Modern
Rheumatology [serial online]. September 2013;23(5):1001-1007. Available from:
Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 1, 2013.