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Item
#11
Calcium
Supplementation Improves Lipid Profile in Postmenopausal Women
Calcium
citrate supplementation significantly increases HDL cholesterol
levels in postmenopausal women.
The
study suggests that the indications for calcium supplementation
need to be modified, New Zealand researchers report.
Dr.
Ian R. Reid and colleagues, from the University of Auckland,
randomly assigned 223 women, mean 72 years of age, to calcium 1
g/day or placebo for 1 year. These women had not received prior
therapy for hyperlipidemia or osteoporosis.
The
researchers measured levels of LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol
at baseline and again at 2, 6, and 12 months, according to their
report in the April 1st issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
According
to the authors, at the end of the trial HDL cholesterol levels and
HDL to LDL ratio had increased more among women taking calcium
supplements compared with women taking placebo.
Dr.
Reid's team points out that these changes were primarily due to an
increase in HDL cholesterol of 7% (p = 0.01) and a nonsignificant
6% decrease in LDL cholesterol (p = 0.09) among women taking the
calcium supplement compared with women taking placebo.
Calcium
supplementation did not have a significant effect on triglyceride
concentrations (p = 0.48), the New Zealand researchers add.
"These
data provide reason to encourage the more widespread use of
calcium supplementation in postmenopausal women, to explore its
effects on lipids in other populations such as men, and to
undertake larger studies to assess the effects of calcium
supplementation on the risk of cardiovascular events," Dr.
Reid and colleagues conclude. Am J Med 2002;112:343-347.
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Did
You Know:
17
to 20 million Americans have diabetes and approximately 800,000
new cases of diabetes are diagnosed each year!
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