FRIDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Calcium supplementation alone or with vitamin D reduces the risk of fracture and the rate of bone loss in middle-aged and elderly individuals, according to a review of published studies in the Aug. 25 issue of The Lancet.
Benjamin M.P. Tang, M.D., from the University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of 29 randomized trials involving 63,897 patients aged 50 years or older. They looked at whether calcium alone or with vitamin D could prevent fracture and osteoporotic bone loss.
The researchers found a 12 percent lower risk of fracture (24 percent where compliance was high) in the 17 trials examining fracture. In the 23 trials that examined bone mineral density, the rate of bone loss was reduced by 0.54 percent in the hip and by 1.19 percent in the spine. Better results were obtained with calcium doses of at least 1200 mg and vitamin D doses of at least 800 IU.
"Evidence supports the use of calcium, or calcium in combination with vitamin D supplementation, in the preventive treatment of osteoporosis in people aged 50 years or older," the authors conclude. "For best therapeutic effect, we recommend minimum doses of 1200 mg of calcium, and 800 IU of vitamin D (for combined calcium plus vitamin D supplementation)."
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