Older Women May Not Need So Much Calcium, Vitamin D

Vitamin D and calcium supplements may elevate blood levels too high for older women; this contradicts most recommendations that encourage women to take supplements, according to a recent study.

"I would recommend that women determine how much calcium they typically get through their food sources before taking a hefty calcium supplement. They may not need as much as they think," said Margery Gass, MD, one of the study’s authors and North American Menopause Society’s executive director.
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The randomized and placebo-controlled trial involved 163 Caucasian women with low vitamin D levels.  The participants—ages 57 to 90—were administered vitamin D doses and calcium citrate tablets to reach the recommended daily amount, 400 to 4800 IU/day and 1200 mg/day, respectively.

Investigators discovered that even though the women did not exhibit hyperparathyroidism, approximately 8.8% of the participants manifested hypercalcemia (calcium excess in their blood) despite the fact that they were taking normal supplement doses.

Additionally, 30.6% of the women developed superfluous levels of calcium in their urine: hypercalciuria.

However, researchers uncovered a way to predict the at-risk women. They noted excess of urine calcium was 15 times greater for those originating with a 24-hour urine/calcium level of 132 mg. 

Moreover, women who began with levels higher than 180 mg, were 20 times more likely to be at risk. Gass and colleagues suggested that every 1-year age increase reduced their risk by 10%.

The complete study is available in the June issue of Menopause.

-Michelle Canales

References:

Gallagher JC, Smith LM, Yalamanchili V. Incidence of hypercalciuria and hypercalcemia during vitamin D and calcium supplementation in older women. Menopause. 2014 June 16 [epub ahead of print] doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000270

EurekAlert!. Supplements of calcium and vitamin D may have too much for some older women [press release]. June 18, 2014. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/tnam-soc061714.php. Accessed June 19, 2014.