The large-population study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2006, vol 354, no 7), investigated the effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on hip fracture risk in healthy postmenopausal women. Researchers from the Ohio State University Medical Center administered 1000 milligrams of calcium carbonate with 400 IU of vitamin D3 daily or a placebo to 36,282 postmenopausal women participating in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, for 7 years. The researchers measured the participants' bone mineral density and fractures were ascertained.
The researchers found that hip bone density was 1 percent higher in the calcium and vitamin D group, as compared with the placebo group. Findings also revealed that the calcium and vitamin D group had a 12 percent reduction in hip fracture risk, compared to the placebo group. However, the calcium and vitamin D group had a 29 percent reduction in hip fracture risk, when data from participants who didn't adhere to the medication regimen was removed from the analysis.
"The findings provide evidence of a positive effect of calcium with vitamin D on bone health in older postmenopausal women," the study authors conclude.
Posted by Kristopher Foster on April 17, 2006 07:43 PM
