New Study Suggest That Glucosamine Supplements May Reduces Risk Of Cardiovascular Diseases
Source: Thailand Medical News May 16, 2019 5 years, 6 months, 1 week, 1 day, 1 hour, 28 minutes ago
A Study involving the analysis of a large databank of more than 466,039 individuals from a UK biobank by University Of Tulane in New Orleans led by Professor Lu Qi had their findings published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ ).
The findings indicated that glucosamine may have benefits in preventing CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) events, such as stroke and coronary heart disease but the researchers also noted that further clinical trials are needed to properly confirm this theory.
The findings showed that one in five (19.3%) of the participants reported glucosamine use and in this group, there was a 15% lower risk of total CVD events and a 9% to 22% lower risk of CHD, stroke and CVD death compared with groups that did not use glucosamine. These associations remained after taking into account traditional risk factors such as age, sex, weight and BMI, ethnicity, lifestyle, diet, medication and other supplement usage.
Also interesting was that the association between glucosamine usage and CHD was stronger in current smokers (37% lower risk) compared with never (12%) and former smokers (18%).
Several theories may explain the results according to the researchers. For instance regular usage of glucosamine has been linked to C-reactive protein (CRP) being reduced. C-reactive protein is a chemical associated with inflammation. This may explain the stronger association with smokers who have higher levels of inflammation and higher risk of CVD than non-smokers.
Furthermore, glucosamine may also emulate a low carbohydrate diet, which has been inversely associated with the development of CVD.
The study however had a number of limitation such as access to actual dosages of glucosamine used and also the side effects of glucosamine usage.
According to Professor Lu Qi in a phone interview with Thailand Medical News, “we can say that regular glucosamine use may be a marker for a healthy lifestyle but more proper research is needed before we can really conclude anything.”
Glucosamine is a popular dietary supplement used to relieve osteoarthritis and joint pain. While its effectiveness on joint pain continues to be debated and studied, it is now emerging to have a second role in preventing cardiovascular disease and reducing mortality.
Reference: Association of habitual glucosamine use with risk of cardiovascular disease: prospective study in UK Biobank, BMJ (2019). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.l1628 , https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l1628
