New York, Dec 2 (IANS): Researchers have revealed that glucosamine supplements may reduce overall mortality almost as well as regular exercise does.
Glucosamine sulfate might provide some pain relief for people with osteoarthritis, glaucoma, weight loss, joint pain caused by drugs.
The supplement appears to be safe and might be a helpful option for people who can't take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
"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 study author Dana King from the West Virginia University in the US.
"That's not what we suggest. Keep exercising, but the thought that taking a pill would also be beneficial is intriguing," King added.
For the study, published in the Journal of American Board of Family Medicine, the research team 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. The research team merged these data with 2015 mortality figures.
After adjusting for various factors -- such as the participants' age, sex, smoking status and activity level -- the researchers found that taking glucosamine/chondroitin every day for a year or longer was associated with a 39 per cent reduction in all-cause mortality.
It was also linked to a 65 percent reduction in cardiovascular-related deaths. That's a category that includes deaths from stroke, coronary artery disease and heart disease.
"Once we took everything into account, the impact was pretty significant," the researchers wrote.
The team explained that because this is an epidemiological study, rather than a clinical trial, it doesn't offer definitive proof that glucosamine/chondroitin makes death less likely. But the results are "encouraging."
"In my view, it's important that people know about this, so they can discuss the findings with their doctor and make an informed choice. Glucosamine is over the counter, so it is readily available," the authors wrote.