Glucosamine supplements may reduce overall mortality about as well as regular exercise does, according to a new epidemiological study from West Virginia University.
“Does this mean that if you get off work at five o’clock one day, you should just skip the gym, take a glucosamine pill and go home instead?” said Dana King, professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine, who led the study.
“That’s not what we suggest. Keep exercising, but the thought that taking a pill would also be beneficial is intriguing,” added King.
He and his research partner, Jun Xiang–a WVU health data analyst–assessed data from 16,686 adults who completed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2010. All of the participants were at least 40 years old. King and Xiang merged these data with 2015 mortality figures.
After controlling for various factors–such as participants’ age, sex, smoking status and activity level–the researchers found that…