BMJ's Effects of Glucosamine Research Limited

BMJ's Effects of Glucosamine Research Flawed and Limited

The Complementary Healthcare Council (CHC) notes that the BMJ's latest research on the effects of glucosamine, chondroitin, or placebo in patients with osteoarthritis of hip or knee, which suggests glucosamine is no more effective than a placebo, has flaws.

The trials included in the study were made up of different types of glucosamine and chondroitin products i.e. chondroitin sulphate, glucosamine sulphate, glucosamine hydrochloride or a combination of any two.

The study does not therefore truly evaluate -like with like products". This therefore casts doubt over the findings. This is one of the main downside results of using meta-analyses as an evaluation tool.

Another limitation with this study is the use of different instruments to measure joint pain. This weakness has also been identified by the scientists who authored the research: -poor correlation or differences in responsiveness of different instruments could be a potential threat to the validity of the results'.

There are numerous published clinical trials on glucosamine which suggests the substance is quite effective in assisting those with osteoarthritis. And, given the increase in uptake of the supplement within Australia, market suggests consumers are growing ever more confident in its benefits as well.

The CHC recommends that anyone taking or considering taking glucosamine products should consult their health food store or healthcare professional for advice.

In the latest Australian market research, glucosamine product turnover had increased by 137.5% (from $56.5m in 2004 to $134.2m in 2009) making it the most popular nutritional supplement for consumers.2 The CHC fully supports research into complementary medicine products and substances.