Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29980200›Full record

SynthesisJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2018

Effectiveness and safety of glucosamine and chondroitin for the treatment of osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Xiaoyue Zhu, Lingli Sang, Dandong Wu, Jiesheng Rong, Liying Jiang

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
55citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
9.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

55 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 135 citations in OpenAlex.

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  2. Low dose NSAIDs and sysadoas in the management of knee osteoarthritis.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Xiaoyue ZhuBaoshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Lingli SangDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.
Dandong WuDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.
Jiesheng RongDepartment of Orthopedics Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China.
Liying JiangShanghai Key Laboratory for Molecular Imaging, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. J_meili@126.com.
Nantong University · CNHarbin Medical University · CNShanghai Municipal Center For Disease Control Prevention · CNShanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences · CN

Funding

Jiangsu Students' Platform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program 201710304058Research Innovation Program for College Graduates of Jiangsu Province YKC16019
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo assess the symptomatic effectiveness and safety of oral symptomatic slow-acting drugs (SYSADOAs) on the treatment of knee and/or hip osteoarthritis, such as chondroitin, glucosamine, and combination treatment with chondroitin plus glucosamine.

methodsWe searched electronic database including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and the reference lists of relevant articles published from inception to May 22, 2018. An updated meta-analysis was performed to assess the effectiveness of these slow-acting drugs for osteoarthritis.

resultsTwenty-six articles describing 30 trials met our inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The estimates between chondroitin and placebo showed that chondroitin could alleviate pain symptoms and improve function. Compared with placebo, glucosamine proved significant effect only on stiffness improvement. However, the combination therapy did not have enough evidence to be superior to placebo. Additionally, there was no significant difference in the incidence of AEs and discontinuations of AEs when compared with placebo.

conclusionsGiven the effectiveness of these symptomatic slow-acting drugs, oral chondroitin is more effective than placebo on relieving pain and improving physical function. Glucosamine showed effect on stiffness outcome. Regarding on the limited number of combination therapy, further studies need to investigate the accurate effectiveness. This information accompanied with the tolerability and economic costs of included treatments would be conducive to making decisions for clinicians.

Indexed as

ChondroitinDrug Therapy, CombinationGlucosamineHumansOsteoarthritis, HipOsteoarthritis, KneeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeChondroitinGlucosamineChondroitinGlucosamineOsteoarthritisTreatment

Identifiers

PMID29980200
PMCPMC6035477
OpenAlexW2869639992

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.