Calcium and Vitamin D Effective for Bone Density Boost
Lee Swanson Research Update
Combined supplements of vitamin D and calcium are effective for increasing the bone mineral density of post-menopausal women, even when calcium intakes are adequate. That’s what researchers in Finland found recently.
The bone mineral density (BMD) of post-menopausal women increased significantly more when they received daily doses of 800 IU of vitamin D and 1,000 mg of calcium for three years, compared with women who received no intervention.
Moreover, results from the Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention – Fracture Prevention Study (OSTPRE-FPS) indicated that women who complied the best with the supplementation protocol, taking at least 80% of the supplements, experienced the greatest benefits.
Researchers from the University of Kuopio reported their findings in the journal Osteoporosis International.
OSTPRE-FPS was a randomized population-based open trial involving 3,432 women aged between 66 and 71. A subset of 593 women were randomly selected for BMD measurements, with half of the women receiving the daily vitamin D plus calcium supplements, while the other group received nothing.
After three years of study, the researchers reported that the total body BMD increased by 0.84% in the intervention group, compared with a 0.19% increase in the control group. However, no significant differences were observed in the BMD change at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, trochanter and total proximal femur, the researchers said.
"Daily vitamin D and calcium supplementation have a positive effect on the skeleton in ambulatory postmenopausal women with adequate nutritional calcium intake," the researchers concluded.
Jan, 2011
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