Study confirms calcium's value in reducing risk of osteoporotic fracture
and bone loss
Calcium, alone or in combination with vitamin D, can reduce the risk of osteoporotic fracture and bone loss, a meta-analysis published in The
Lancet confirms (2007;370:657).
Of 29 studies involving a total of 63,879 people, 17 studies looked at
fractures as an outcome and 24 reported bone mineral density (some studies
looked at both).
Calcium and calcium/vitamin D were associated with a 12 per cent reduction
in the risk of fractures (risk ratio 0.88, 95 per cent confidence interval
0.83–0.95; P=0.0004) compared with placebo. The reduction in fracture
risk was higher (24 per cent) in studies reporting 80 per cent or greater
compliance (P<0.0001).
Bone loss was less at the hip (difference in percentage change in bone
mineral density from baseline of 0.54 per cent, 0.35–0.73; P<0.0001)
and less at the spine (1.19 per cent, 0.76–1.61; P=0.0001) for
the treatment group compared with placebo.
According to the authors, the addition of vitamin D to calcium did not
provide significant benefit over calcium alone.
The authors recommend a minimum dose of 1,200mg of calcium and 800 units
of vitamin D for best therapeutic effect. Nonetheless, they claim that
many calcium and calcium/vitamin D products available contain insufficient
amounts of the active ingredients.
They add: “Although our findings confirmed that therapeutic effect
generally increased with age, it also suggested that the effect becomes
much greater and clinically significant after the age of 70 years.” They
say that the cost-effectiveness of treating specific age groups should
be addressed in future studies.
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