Do Vitamin D and Calcium Supplements Prevent Cardiovascular Events?

Existing data are insufficient to support using either type of supplement to prevent cardiovascular events in the general population.

A growing number of U.S. adults take vitamin D supplements, calcium supplements, or both. What do we know about the risks and benefits of these supplements with regard to cardiovascular disease (CVD) endpoints? To find out, researchers synthesized data from 17 relevant English-language articles (9 prospective observational studies and 8 randomized trials) that were published from 1966 through July 2009.

Five of the observational studies focused on kidney-dialysis patients; in these, CVD mortality rates were consistently lower among patients who received vitamin D supplements than among those who did not. In the other four observational studies, which focused on healthy people, calcium supplements showed no benefit with regard to preventing C…

Reviewing Author

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Joel M. Gore, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNIH–National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute