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Clinicians often assume that in postmenopausal women with osteopenia, higher intake of dietary calcium will mitigate declining bone-mineral density (BMD). To examine this assumption, researchers studied nearly 700 osteopenic postmenopausal women (age, >65) who comprised the placebo group of a randomized bisphosphonate trial. BMD was measured at baseline and at 6 years, and serial assessments of dietary calcium (through food-frequency questionnaires) were obtained. Calcium supplementation was not encouraged, but participants were provided with moderate-dose vitamin D supplements. Daily calcium intake averaged 469 mg in the lowest quintile and 1361 mg in the highest quintile and changed only minimally over time.
At baseline, BMD was similar ac…