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 .
Calcium, vitamin D, milk consumption, and hip fractures: a prospective study among postmenopausal women.
BACKGROUND Short trials of calcium supplementation show that it reduces loss of bone density in postmenopausal women ; longer observational studies do not generally find a lower risk of hip fracture with higher-calcium diets . Fewer studies have focused on vitamin D in preventing postmenopausal osteoporosis or fractures . OBJECTIVE We assessed relations between postmenopausal hip fracture risk and calcium , vitamin D , and milk consumption . DESIGN In an 18-y prospect i ve analysis in 72 337 postmenopausal women , dietary intake and nutritional supplement use were assessed at baseline in 1980 and up date d several times during follow-up . We identified 603 incident hip fractures result ing from low or moderate trauma .  Relative risks ( RRs ) from proportional hazards models were controlled for other dietary and nondietary factors . RESULTS Women consuming > or = 12.5 microg vitamin D/d from food plus supplements had a 37 % lower risk of hip fracture ( RR = 0.63 ; 95 % CI : 0.42 , 0.94 ) than did women consuming < 3.5 microg/d . Total calcium intake was not associated with hip fracture risk ( RR = 0.96 ; 95 % CI : 0.68 , 1.34 for > or = 1200 compared with < 600 mg/d ) . Milk consumption was also not associated with a lower risk of hip fracture ( P for trend = 0.21 ) . CONCLUSIONS An adequate vitamin D intake is associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic hip fractures in postmenopausal women . Neither milk nor a high-calcium diet appears to reduce risk . Because women commonly consume less than the recommended intake of vitamin D , supplement use or dark fish consumption may be prudent
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 .