ROCHESTER, MINN. -- Calcium supplements reduce bone loss in elderly women, although only modestly, and can help prevent osteoporosis in women who donÃt already have the condition, reports a Mayo Clinic study.
The study followed 177 women (aged 61 to 70, with no history of osteoporosis) for four years. They were given either 1,600 mgs of calcium a day or a placebo. At the end, the women who took the supplements had slightly higher (about one percent) bone density levels in areas measured -- spine, femur and total body bone mineral -- than women who took the inactive supplement.
The women who took the supplements also had lower levels in the blood of chemical indicators for bone resorption. Resorption occurs when the body ìstealsî calcium from bones because calcium intake is insufficient to meet the bodyÃs needs.
ìThe calcium supplement definitely had an effect on bone loss,î says Dr. B. Lawrence Riggs, a Mayo endocrinologist and director of the study. ìBut the effect is much weaker than the effects produced by estrogen, bisphosphonates or calcitonin therapies. Anyone with significant bone loss canÃt depend on supplements to make it up. They will need these other agents.î
ìBut for normal healthy individuals, calcium supplements are something everyone at risk for osteoporosis should take,î says Dr. Riggs. ìThey are relatively cheap, they are well tolerated and they have no significant side effects.î
Dr. Riggs said the study also confirmed that new recommendations for daily calcium intake are much closer to levels people need to keep their calcium levels in proper balance. The new recommendations call for 1,000 mgs per day for premenopausal women and men and 1,200 mgs per day for postmenopausal women. (One exchange of a dairy product is roughly equivalent to 250 mgs of calcium.)
The study appeared in the February issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
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