Should Women with Menopause Take Supplements?

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Should Women with Menopause Take Supplements?
 

– Reported June 29, 2013

(Ivanhoe Newswire) —Some women take calcium and vitamin D supplements after menopause for bone health; others choose not to. Opinions are strong in the medical arena on whether supplements should be recommended. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) trial throws weight on the supplement side.

Nearly 30,000 postmenopausal women participated in the WHI hormone trial; some 8,000 took supplemental calcium (1,000 mg/day) and vitamin D (400 mg/day), and some 8,000 took look-alike placebos. The researchers looked at how the rates of hip fracture differed among women who took hormones and supplements, those who took hormones alone, and those who took neither.

The researchers concluded that the women using both therapies had a much greater protection against hip fractures than with either therapy alone. Taking supplements alone wasn’t significantly better than taking no supplements and no hormones. The results also suggest that women taking postmenopausal hormone therapy should also take supplemental calcium and vitamin D.

SOURCE: Menopause, June 2013