Calcium was more effective than placebo in reducing rates of bone loss after two or more years of treatment .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Calcium supplementation alone has a small positive effect on bone density .
The data show a trend toward reduction in vertebral fractures , but it is unclear if calcium reduces the incidence of non vertebral fractures
BACKGROUND Although calcium is one the simplest and least expensive strategies for preventing osteoporotic fractures calcium supplementation is nevertheless not without controversy ( Kanis 1989 ; Nordin 1990 ) .
The Food and Drug Administration in the US has permitted a bone health cl aim for calcium-rich foods , and the NIH in its Consensus Development Process approved a statement that high calcium intake reduces the risk of osteoporosis .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of calcium on bone density and fractures in postmenopausal women .
Effect of estrogens and calcium carbonate on bone loss in postmenopausal women.
Sixty postmenopausal women were placed in three groups -- control , sex hormone-treated , and CaCO3-treated-- and followed for 2 years . Skeletal mass decreased by 1.18%/year in the control group , 0.15%/year in the hormone group , and 0.22%/year in the CaCO3 group by radiogrammetry ; and 2.88%/year in the control group , 0.73%/year in the hormone group , and 1.83%/year in the CaCO3 group by photon absorptiometry . The treatment groups differed significantly from the control group except for photon absorptiometry in the CaCO3 group . Bone accretion and resorption decreased in the treatment groups as measured by calcium tracer kinetics , resorption more so than accretion . We conclude that [ 1 ] these techniques are sufficiently sensitive to detect age-related bone loss ; [ 2 ] postmenopausal sex-hormone replacement measurably decreases age-related bone loss by suppressing bone turnover , resorption more than accretion ; and [ 3 ] calcium supplements produce the same effect but at the dose we used were slightly less effective
Calcium was more effective than placebo in reducing rates of bone loss after two or more years of treatment .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Calcium supplementation alone has a small positive effect on bone density .
The data show a trend toward reduction in vertebral fractures , but it is unclear if calcium reduces the incidence of non vertebral fractures
BACKGROUND Although calcium is one the simplest and least expensive strategies for preventing osteoporotic fractures calcium supplementation is nevertheless not without controversy ( Kanis 1989 ; Nordin 1990 ) .
The Food and Drug Administration in the US has permitted a bone health cl aim for calcium-rich foods , and the NIH in its Consensus Development Process approved a statement that high calcium intake reduces the risk of osteoporosis .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of calcium on bone density and fractures in postmenopausal women .