Abstract
Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic condition that causes pain and disability, limiting the daily activities of millions of adults worldwide. It is estimated that the global prevalence of OA is 3.8%, this being higher in women older than 60 years. It has been shown that the use of alternative therapies such as the extract of unsaponifiables from avocado and soybean oils can reduce joint pain and stiffness and may result in considering a reduction in the dose of conventional pharmacological treatment. Objective To establish the clinical effect and safety of therapy with unsaponifiable extracts from avocado and soybean oils in patients attended by a group of primary care general practitioners in Colombia. Materials and methods A real-life prospective cohort study was carried out, in a 6-month follow-up period, including patients over 18 years of age who attended the primary care consultation in 12 Colombian cities, who had a diagnosis OA clinicians, who had a prescription for pharmacological therapy for the treatment of pain and who were candidates for receiving Persea gratissima Mill insaponifiables 100 mg.; Glycine max (L) Merr. unsaponifiables 200 mg. Baseline variables and clinical variables such as the anatomical location of the OA, analog scale of pain, edema, and stiffness were collected. Patients who attended three check-ups over six months were considered fully adherent patients, and patients with low adherence were those who only attended one check-up during follow-up. Results 117 patients entered the study, 74% were women, mostly 65 years of age or older. The average of the visual analog scale of pain was 6.6 ± 1.69 at the beginning, while at 6 months of follow-up the average was 2.6 ± 1.32. Other symptoms such as edema and stiffness also decreased, especially in patients who had full adherence. Conclusions As other studies have shown, therapy with unsaponifiable extracts from avocado and soybean oils shows a considerable decrease and improvement in joint pain and other associated symptoms.References
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