Calcium Supplementation Doesn't Improve or Hurt Cardiovascular Health

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Taking calcium supplements doesn't appear to worsen cardiovascular health in healthy postmenopausal women, shows a study presented at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research annual meeting that took place over the weekend in Orlando.

Suzanne N Morin, et al. reported that even though a previously conducted meta-analyses found that calcium supplements may increase rates of cardiovascular events in adults, Dr. Morin and her team found no differences in baseline characteristics between three groups of postmenopausal women.

They examined, in postmenopausal women, the effect of dietary calcium compared to supplemental calcium on carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and on carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), both of which are strongly associated with vascular diseases.

They study included healthy postmenopausal women (n=121) who received either1200 mg of calcium daily through food or 750 mg of calcium through supplements and dietary sources (daily total of 1200 mg (N=47). A third group received no intervention (N=26 for 12 months).

"In healthy postmenopausal women, calcium supplementation, compared to dietary calcium intake, did not result in worse vascular outcomes as measured by arterial stiffness, carotid media thickness and serum biomarkers following a 12-month randomized controlled intervention," they stated in their conference abstract.

REFERENCE

Suzanne N Morin MD, MS. "[1075] A Randomized Clinical Trial on the Effect of Dietary Calcium Intake as Compared to Calcium Supplement on Vascular Health in Postmenopausal Women," American Society for Bone and Mineral Research annual meeting, September 22, 2019. Orlando.