For Bones, Calcium Trumps Vitamin D

Supplementation with vitamin D plus calcium was of no additional benefit over calcium supplementation alone in older women with vitamin D insufficiency.

Studies in which supplementation with calcium plus vitamin D was compared with calcium alone have yielded conflicting results. Now, investigators randomized 300 community-dwelling Australian women (age range, 70–90) with vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations <60 nM; histories of at least 1 fall during the previous 12 months) to receive calcium citrate (500 mg twice daily) plus ergocalciferol (vitamin D₂; 1000 IU) or placebo once daily. Hip and total-body BMD, as well as markers of bone metabolism, were measured at baseline and at 12 months.

Participants maintained high mean daily calcium intake (1100±500 mg overall; >1200 mg for 37% of women). At 12 months, mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations were 34% high…

Reviewing Author

Wendy S. Biggs, MD

For Bones, Calcium Trumps Vitamin D

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Reviewing Author