Health risks and benefits from calcium and vitamin D supplementation: Women's Health Initiative clinical trial and cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Summary

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial randomly assigned 36,282 postmenopausal women in the U.S. to 1,000 mg elemental calcium carbonate plus 400 IU of vitamin D(3) daily or placebo, with average intervention period of 7.0 years. The trial was designed to test whether calcium plus vitamin D supplementation in a population in which the use of these supplements was widespread would reduce hip fracture, and secondarily, total fracture and colorectal cancer.

Introduction

This study further examines the health benefits and risks of calcium and vitamin D supplementation using WHI data, with emphasis on fractures, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and total mortality.

Methods

WHI calcium and vitamin D randomized clinical tri

SUBMITTER: Prentice RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3557387 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature