Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip
Authors: Harley Goldberg, Andrew Avins, Stephen Bent
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Letters18 December 2007Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or HipHarley Goldberg, DO, Andrew Avins, MD, and Stephen Bent, MDHarley Goldberg, DOFrom Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, 94612; and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94121.Search for more papers by this author, Andrew Avins, MDFrom Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, 94612; and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94121.Search for more papers by this author, and Stephen Bent, MDFrom Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, 94612; and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94121.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-12-200712180-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Reichenbach and colleagues' meta-analysis on chondroitin for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip (1) is both timely and important. However, we are concerned that the authors' sweeping conclusions are not well grounded in their methodology.Based on data extraction and synthesis, the overall effect size of chondroitin is large (see Reichenbach and colleagues' Figure 2; P < 0.001), although this conclusion is limited by the presence of heterogeneity among trials (I2 = 92%). Using meta-regression, the authors identified a subset of trials that provide homogeneity and stronger methodology, suggesting no effect on pain. The authors accurately state that ...References1. Reichenbach S, Sterchi R, Scherer M, Trelle S, Bürgi E, Bürgi U, et al. Meta-analysis: chondroitin for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:580-90. [PMID: 17438317] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Hunter DJ, Zhang YQ, Tu X, Lavalley M, Niu JB, Amin S, et al. Change in joint space width: hyaline articular cartilage loss or alteration in meniscus? Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:2488-95. [PMID: 16868968] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Spector TD, Dacre JE, Harris PA, Huskisson EC. Radiological progression of osteoarthritis: an 11 year follow up study of the knee. Ann Rheum Dis. 1992;51:1107-10. [PMID: 1444622] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Harley Goldberg, DO; Andrew Avins, MD; Stephen Bent, MDAffiliations: From Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, 94612; and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94121.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoMeta-analysis: Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip Stephan Reichenbach , Rebekka Sterchi , Martin Scherer , Sven Trelle , Elizabeth Bürgi , Ulrich Bürgi , Paul A. Dieppe , and Peter Jüni Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip Jean-Pierre Pelletier Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip Michael D. Levin Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip Sven Trelle , Stephan Reichenbach , and Peter Jüni Metrics Cited byConservative Treatment Modalities and Outcomes for Osteoarthritis: The Concomitant Pyramid of Treatment 18 December 2007Volume 147, Issue 12Page: 883KeywordsArthralgiaChondroitinClinical trialsConflicts of interestHipIntent to treat analysisKneesOsteoarthritisSystematic reviews ePublished: 18 December 2007 Issue Published: 18 December 2007 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...