Increasing daily calcium intake to not reduce fracture risk

A study has found that increasing the daily intake of calcium from 700 mg a day will not reduce the risk of fractures or osteoporosis in later life.

With growing age, the risk of fractures and osteoporosis also grows, as bones start losing calcium- this is especially the case for women.

Whether increase in calcium intake can compensate for the loss of calcium has been debated for a long time but there is still no clear advice.

In order to establish a link between calcium intake and the risk of fractures, authors, led by Dr Eva Warensjo from Uppsala University in Sweden, reviewed data from a large population study of Swedish women that was carried out in 1987.

All participants were followed up for 19 years. During the follow-up 24% women had a first fracture and, of these, 6% had a first hip fracture. 20% of the sub-group had osteoporosis.

The researchers used a series of questionnaires to investigate the participants’ changing diet and in particular their calcium intake and use of supplements and multivitamins.

The results have suggested that women had the lowest risk of having a fracture when they consumed around 750 mg a day of calcium.

However, those who started increasing their calcium intake over time did not see any decline in fracture risk.

The study was published on bmj.com.