Calcium supplements  increased BMD by 0.7 - 1.8 % at all five skeletal sites at one , two , and over two and a half years , but the size of the increase in BMD at later time points was similar to the increase at one year .
Increasing calcium intake from dietary sources or by taking calcium supplements produces small non-progressive increases in BMD , which are unlikely to lead to a clinical ly significant reduction in risk of fracture
OBJECTIVE To determine whether increasing calcium intake from dietary sources affects  bone mineral density ( BMD ) and , if so , whether the effects are similar to those of calcium supplements .
Does calcium supplementation prevent postmenopausal bone loss? A double-blind, controlled clinical study.
During a two-year study , we examined the effect of calcium supplementation on postmenopausal bone loss in 43 women in the early postmenopausal period who were assigned to one of three treatment groups : percutaneous 17 beta-estradiol ( combined with progesterone during the second year ) , oral calcium ( 2000 mg daily ) , and placebo . All participants were examined every three months . Bone mineral content in the forearm ( measured by single-photon absorptiometry ) and in the entire body and spine ( measured by dual-photon absorptiometry ) remained constant in the estrogen-treated group but decreased significantly in the groups receiving calcium and placebo . In the calcium-treated group , we observed a tendency toward a slowed loss of compact bone ( in the proximal forearm and total skeleton ) as compared with the placebo group , while the rate of loss of trabecular bone ( the distal forearm and spine ) was the same as in the placebo group . Our preliminary data suggest that calcium supplementation in the dosage we used is not as effective as estrogen therapy for the prevention of early postmenopausal bone loss .  Calcium supplementation may have had a minor effect on the loss of cortical bone , but it had no effect on the trabecular bone
Calcium supplements  increased BMD by 0.7 - 1.8 % at all five skeletal sites at one , two , and over two and a half years , but the size of the increase in BMD at later time points was similar to the increase at one year .
Increasing calcium intake from dietary sources or by taking calcium supplements produces small non-progressive increases in BMD , which are unlikely to lead to a clinical ly significant reduction in risk of fracture
OBJECTIVE To determine whether increasing calcium intake from dietary sources affects  bone mineral density ( BMD ) and , if so , whether the effects are similar to those of calcium supplements .