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MrOS: Calcium supplements did not increase risk for CV mortality
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BALTIMORE — Calcium supplementation plus high dietary calcium intake were not associated with total or cardiovascular mortality among older men, according to data presented here.
Although the literature has suggested a link between calcium intake and increased CV events, data from the ongoing Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS) indicate otherwise.
“Calcium is a critical skeletal nutrient; unfortunately, there’s a substantial proportion of the population that has inadequate intake,” Douglas Bauer, MD, professor in residence at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, said during a presentation at ASBMR 2013.
Bauer said he and colleagues administered a survey to 5,967 men (mean age, 74 years) whose mean dietary calcium intake was 1,142 mg/day, 65% of whom reported the use of calcium supplementation at baseline.
Bauer reported that men with higher intake tended to be older, thinner, better educated, more likely to be white, less likely to smoke, and had higher gait speed (P trend <.05 for all). Ten-year follow-up data indicate that 2,022 men died; 687 deaths were attributed to CVD.
“BMI did not differ between those that survived, and those that did not,” Bauer said.
Men in the lowest quartile of total calcium intake (<621 mg/day) demonstrated greater risk for mortality (HR=1.19; 95% CI, 1.02-1.39) compared with patients in the highest quartile (>1,565 mg/day), according to data from base models adjusted for age, energy intake and calcium supplementation use.
Furthermore, calcium intake was not linked to total mortality (HR=1.06; 95% CI, 0.96-1.18) or CV mortality (HR=1; 95% CI, 0.83-1.2), according to data.
“There’s no relationship between calcium intake and all-cause mortality, and no difference between men taking supplements or not taking supplements,” Bauer said.
Bauer said future studies of calcium intake should include adjudicated CV outcomes. – by Samantha Costa
For more information:
Bauer D. Distinguished Orals – Lifestyle #1001. Presented at: the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2013 Annual Meeting; Oct. 4-7, 2013; Baltimore.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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Christian Marcelli, MD, PhD
This prospective study was very interesting because we use calcium in many of our patients and it’s important to know if it’s safe to use or not.
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