CONCLUSIONS Dietary calcium intake is not associated with risk of fracture , and there is no clinical trial evidence that increasing calcium intake from dietary sources prevents fractures .
OBJECTIVE To examine the evidence underpinning recommendations to increase calcium intake through dietary sources or calcium supplements to prevent fractures .
Randomized controlled trial of calcium supplementation in healthy, nonosteoporotic, older men.
BACKGROUND There is no consistent evidence , to our knowledge , that calcium supplementation affects  bone mineral density ( BMD ) in men , despite male osteoporosis being a common clinical problem . METHODS To determine the effects of calcium supplementation ( 600 mg/d , 1200 mg/d , or placebo ) on BMD in men , we conducted a double-blind , r and omized controlled trial for a 2-year period at an academic clinical research center . A total of 323 healthy men at least 40 years old ( mean age , 57 years ) were recruited by newspaper advertisement . Complete follow-up was achieved in 96 % of subjects . RESULTS The BMD increased at all sites in the group receiving calcium , 1200 mg/d , by 1 % to 1.5 % more than those receiving placebo . The results for the group receiving calcium , 600 mg/d , were not different from the placebo group at any BMD site . There was no interaction between the BMD treatment effect and either age or dietary calcium intake . There were dosage-related , sustained decreases in serum parathyroid hormone ( P < .001 ) , total alkaline phosphatase activity ( P = .01 ) , and procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide ( P < .001 ) amounting to 25 % , 8 % , and 20 % , respectively , in the group receiving calcium , 1200 mg/d , at 2 years . Tooth loss , constipation , and cramps were unaffected by calcium supplementation , falls tended to be less frequent in the group receiving calcium , 1200 mg/d , but vascular events tended to be more common in the groups receiving calcium vs the group receiving placebo . CONCLUSION Calcium , 1200 mg/d , has effects on BMD in men comparable with those found in postmenopausal women but a dosage of 600 mg/d is ineffective for treating BMD . TRIAL REGISTRATION actr.org.au Identifier : 012605000274673
CONCLUSIONS Dietary calcium intake is not associated with risk of fracture , and there is no clinical trial evidence that increasing calcium intake from dietary sources prevents fractures .
OBJECTIVE To examine the evidence underpinning recommendations to increase calcium intake through dietary sources or calcium supplements to prevent fractures .