NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People looking to improve their heart
health by lowering their cholesterol levels won't find help from calcium and
vitamin D supplements, according to a new study.
While claims have been made for a beneficial effect of calcium and vitamin D
on cholesterol levels, supporting evidence is thin, the study's lead author,
Dr. Swapnil Rajpathak of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New
York, noted in an email to Reuters Health.
High levels of cholesterol and other lipids (harmful blood fats such as
triglycerides) are a well-established risk factor for
cardiovascular disease -- the number one killer of Americans. So anything
that could lower levels might be a welcome addition to millions of medicine
cabinets.
Calcium is a prime candidate. The mineral is thought to interfere with the
body's absorption of lipids, and possibly even trigger their breakdown.
However, only slight effects have been observed in just a few small and
relatively short-run clinical trials. Vitamin D's link to lipids has been
studied even less, Rajpathak and his colleagues explain in a report in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
They sought more robust results within a large, long-term data set: the
Women's Health Initiative. They identified 1,191 post-menopausal women, with
about half randomly assigned a daily supplement of calcium (1000 milligrams)
plus vitamin D (400 IU). The rest took identical-looking placebos.
After five years of supplementation, no differences were seen between the
two groups in any of the lipids measured, including total cholesterol
levels, "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and "good" HDL
cholesterol levels. Both arms of the trial experienced relatively small
drops in each lipid measured, including levels of heart-healthy HDL
cholesterol.
The study has its limitations, however, Rajpathak and his colleagues point
out. The participants were all older women, making it difficult to say how
men or younger women may respond to the same supplements. And the fact that
the women were on calcium and vitamin D simultaneously meant that the
supplements' independent effects couldn't be teased out.
And a canceling out of positive and negative effects of calcium and vitamin
D on cholesterol can't be ruled out, Dr. Ian Reid, of the University of
Auckland in New Zealand, who was not involved in the study, noted in an
email to Reuters Health. However, "not knowing about the participants' use
of lipid-lowering drugs (such as statins) worries me more," he said.
In a smaller study of postmenopausal women published in 2004, Reid and his
colleagues found significant benefits for calcium supplementation alone: a
potential reduction of up to 30 percent in the risk of experiencing a
cardiovascular event.
Yet a recently published systematic review of several studies supports the
conclusion of Rajpathak's study. The reviewers found no clear role for
calcium and vitamin D in heart disease prevention. (See Reuters Health
report, March 1, 2010.)
Of course, there's no need to toss out the vitamins just yet. "High intake
of calcium and vitamin D may be useful for other health-related outcomes,"
said Rajpathak. Supporting bone health, for example, is one important use.
As for lipid control, his recommendations will probably come as no surprise:
eat a healthy diet and exercise.
SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online February 24, 2010
