Glucosamine is the most common nutritional supplement taken for joint health and it is widely used around the world. A study by Li et al.【1】recently looked at the health tracking from 2006 to 2010 of nearly 500,000 people aged 40-70 in the UK. According to the data, 19.1% of the subjects in the study reported regularly taking glucosamine. The results of the study were then corrected for 27 potential contributing factors. These included the understanding that glucosamine users generally have healthier than average lifestyles. With this data the study developed an accurate data model and reported the relationship between regular glucosamine use and reduced mortality.
What did the study find?
The study found that regular glucosamine use was significantly associated with a 15% lower risk of mortality from all causes. More specifically it was tied to an 18% reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality, 6% for cancer mortality, 27% for respiratory mortality and 26% for digestive mortality. These findings were reported independent of other potential factors including demographics, lifestyle behaviors, health status, drug use and other supplement use. The results reported by the authors are consistent with other prior epidemiological studies looking at glucosamine and mortality.【2-4】Inspired by this study, Hideya Shintani et al【5】in 2021 suggested that further research should focus on the efficacy of glucosamine in anti-aging.
References
- Li Z-H, Gao X, Chung VC, et Associations of regular glucosamine use with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a large prospective cohort study. Ann Rheum Dis 2020;79:829–36. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217176
- Bell GA, Kantor ED, Lampe JW, et Use of glucosamine and chondroitin in relation to mortality. Eur J Epidemiol 2012;27:593–603. doi:10.1007/s10654-012-9714-6
- Brasky TM, Lampe JW, Slatore CG, et al. Use of glucosamine and chondroitin and lung cancer risk in the vitamins and lifestyle (vital) cohort. Cancer Causes Control 2011;22:1333–42. doi:10.1007/s10552-011-9806-8
- Ma H, Li X, Sun D, et Association of habitual glucosamine use with risk of cardiovascular disease: prospective study in UK Biobank. BMJ 2019;365:l1628. doi:10.1136/bmj.l1628
- Hideya Shintani, Hisashi Ashida, Tomoya Shintani,Shifting the focus of d-glucosamine from a dietary supplement for knee osteoarthritis to a potential anti-aging drug,Human Nutrition & Metabolism,Volume 26,2021,200134,ISSN 2666-1497. doi.org/10.1016/j.hnm.2021.200134
Article reposted with permission from Glucosamine Experts.