Calcium supplementation, cardiovascular disease and mortality in older women

Purpose To investigate the long‐term cumulative effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on cardiovascular outcomes and death in older women. Methods We undertook an observational cohort study using UK electronic primary care records in the Doctor's Independent Network (DIN‐LINK) database; 9910 women aged 60–89 who started calcium and vitamin D supplementation between 2000 and 2005, with no heart disease or stroke history and who survived disease free for 2 years after supplement initiation were studied. The main outcome was first occurrence of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke or death more than 2 years after initiation. Results In the period from 2 years after supplement initiation, women who had received >600 days supplementation in these first 2 years were no more at risk of MI, stroke or death (hazard ratio 0.82 (0.67–1.01)) compared to women who received ≤90 days supplementation in the first 2 years. Outcomes in the first 2 years were analysed separately and showed similar baseline risks in our comparison groups. Conclusion Two years after initiation, women who have consistently received supplementation with calcium and vitamin D do not experience more cardiovascular events or deaths than women who received minimal supplementation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.