Vitamin D deficiency is associated with ethnicity and knee pain in a multi-ethnic South-East Asian nation: Results from Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR).

A previous study suggested that vitamin D deficiency was associated with knee pain. This relationship was reproduced in our study, but we further established that the association was explained by ethnic variations. As vitamin D status is dependent on skin tone, diet and sunlight exposure, which are all effected by ethnicity, future studies are now required to determine whether a true relationship exists between vitamin D and knee pain.