Results of a new trial suggest that taking a daily calcium supplement can dramatically reduce the risk of bone fractures. Researchers from University Hospital Zurich and Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire also report that the benefits were no longer observed when supplementation was stopped.
Average citizens in a developed country are at risk of sustaining two fractures over the course of their lifetime.
Among 930 healthy people (average age 61), far fewer fractures were seen in the group getting a daily calcium supplement than in those receiving a placebo.
The participants took either the calcium supplement, which contained 1,200 mg of elemental calcium, or a placebo for four years. They were then followed for another 10.8 years.
Measures of the primary outcomes of all fractures and minimal trauma fractures showed that people in the calcium group experienced 46 fractures, 15 of which were from minimal trauma, while 54 fractures were documented in the placebo group, 29 of which were from minimal trauma. A minimal trauma fracture is defined as being caused by falling from a sitting, standing, or walking position and height.
The researchers calculated that calcium supplements reduced the risk of fracture by 72%, but no difference between the groups was observed during the follow-up period when no supplements were consumed.
"Calcium supplementation reduced the risk of all fractures and of minimal trauma fractures among healthy individuals," concluded the researchers. "The benefit appeared to dissipate after treatment was stopped."
Source: Am J Clin Nutr 2008: 87(6):1945-1951
