Calcium supplements may extend lifespan of women

Toronto: Taking calcium supplements of up to 1,000 milligrammes a day can help women live longer, a new study has found.

Calcium, an essential nutrient for bone health, is commonly found in dairy products. Although it is an essential nutrient for bone health, past studies have linked calcium supplements to heart-disease risk.

Researchers analysing data from the large-scale Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos) sought to clarify this issue and found that moderate doses of calcium supplements had a beneficial effect in women.

"Our study found daily use of calcium supplements was associated with a lower risk of death among women," said the study's lead author, David Goltzman, of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. "The benefit was seen for women who took doses of up to 1,000 mg per day, regardless of whether the supplement contained vitamin D," Goltzman said.

The longitudinal cohort study monitored the health of 9,033 Canadians between 1995 and 2007. During that period, 1,160 participants died.

Although the data showed women who took calcium supplements had a lower mortality risk, there was no statistical benefit for men. The study found no conclusive evidence that vitamin D had an impact on mortality.

"Higher amounts of calcium were potentially linked to longer lifespans in women, regardless of the source of the calcium," Goltzman said. "That is, the same benefits were seen when the calcium came from dairy foods, non-dairy foods or supplements," he said.

The study will be published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

-Manorama Online

==================================