Calcium dosage linked to heart risk

Consumption of calcium supplements, without co-administered vitamin D, can increase risk of heart attack by 30 per cent, research has shown.

A set of 11 studies, comparing people taking supplements equal to 500 mg or more per day with people not on supplements, has found an increased risk for those on the dosage.

Experts said the supplements, usually prescribed to older women to prevent or treat osteoporosis, increase the levels of calcium circulating in the blood, leading to hardening of the arteries and causing increased risk of heart attacks.

The study excluded patients who accompanied the calcium dosage with Vitamin D supplements, needed to absorb the calcium.

Adults require 700mg of calcium a day, which should come from dietary sources like milk, cheese and green, leafy vegetables, according to the Food Standards Agency.

The review of existing studies on some 12,000 people, from experts at the University of Auckland and the University of Aberdeen, however, clarified calcium-rich diets do not increase the risk of heart attacks.

The authors said: "Ingestion of equivalent doses of calcium from dairy products has a much smaller effect than calcium supplements on serum calcium levels."

Writing online in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), they said: "Given the modest benefits of calcium supplements on bone density and fracture prevention, a reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in the management of osteoporosis is warranted."

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