The Calcium Conundrum
THE QUESTION: Does adding calcium and vitamin D supplements reduce the risk of bone fracture in older women? Of colorectal cancer?
THE ANSWER: Supplements might well protect against fracture, but not colorectal cancer. Women's Health Initiative researchers split more than 36,000 women into two groups; one took daily supplements, and the other a placebo. After seven years, both groups were equally likely to have colorectal cancer. Those on supplements had a 12 percent lower risk of hip fracture--a dip that could be due to chance. Still, when the researchers dug deeper, they found that certain groups, including women over 60 and women who were diligent about taking their extra calcium and vitamin D, lowered the odds of hip fracture by up to 30 percent. Supplements did not protect against other types of fracture, and they slightly raised the risk of kidney stones.
BOTTOM LINE: Vitamin D and calcium--from diet and supplements--are known to help maintain strong bones. But they may not be enough to stave off breaks after menopause, says Joel Finkelstein, an endocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. Women should get their bone density tested and talk to their doctor about medication and exercise.
This story appears in the March 6, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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