Title
Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and the risk of fractures
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine
Date
2-16-2006
Document Type
Article
Subjects
Aged; Bone Density; Calcium; Calcium Carbonate; Double-Blind Method; Drug Combinations; Drug Interactions; Estrogen Replacement Therapy; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Fractures, Bone; Hip Fractures; Humans; Kidney Calculi; Middle Aged; Patient Compliance; Postmenopause; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk; Spinal Fractures; Vitamin D
Disciplines
Preventative Medicine
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The efficacy of calcium with vitamin D supplementation for preventing hip and other fractures in healthy postmenopausal women remains equivocal.
METHODS: We recruited 36,282 postmenopausal women, 50 to 79 years of age, who were already enrolled in a Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial. We randomly assigned participants to receive 1000 mg of elemental [corrected] calcium as calcium carbonate with 400 IU of vitamin D3 daily or placebo. Fractures were ascertained for an average follow-up period of 7.0 years. Bone density was measured at three WHI centers.
RESULTS: Hip bone density was 1.06 percent higher in the calcium plus vitamin D group than in the placebo group (PCONCLUSIONS: Among healthy postmenopausal women, calcium with vitamin D supplementation resulted in a small but significant improvement in hip bone density, did not significantly reduce hip fracture, and increased the risk of kidney stones. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00000611.).
Rights and Permissions
Citation: N Engl J Med. 2006 Feb 16;354(7):669-83. Link to article on publisher's site
Related Resources
PubMed ID
16481635
