Cross-sectional analysis of calcium intake for associations with vascular calcification and mortality in individuals with type 2 diabetes from the Diabetes Heart Study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The use of calcium supplements to prevent declines in bone mineral density and fractures is widespread in the United States, and thus reports of elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in users of calcium supplements are a major public health concern. Any elevation in CVD risk with calcium supplement use would be of particular concern in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) because of increased risks of CVD and fractures observed in this population.

OBJECTIVE:

In this study, we examined associations between calcium intake from diet and supplements and measures of subclinical CVD (calcified plaque in the coronary artery, carotid artery, and abdominal aorta) and mortality in individuals affected by T2D.

DESIGN:

We performed a cross-sectional analysis in individuals affected by T2D from the family-based Diabetes Heart Study (n = 720).

RESULTS:

We observed no significant associations of calcium from diet or supplements with any of our measures of calcified plaque, and no greater mortality risk was observed with increased calcium intake. Instead, calcium supplement use was modestly associated with reduced all-cause mortality in women (HR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.92; P = 0.017).

CONCLUSION:

Our results do not support a substantial association between calcium intake from diet or supplements and CVD risk in individuals with T2D.

• Authors: Laura M Raffield, Subhashish Agarwal, Amanda J Cox, Fang-Chi Hsu, J Jeffrey Carr, Barry I Freedman, Jianzhao Xu, Donald W Bowden, Mara Z Vitolins
• Journal: The American journal of clinical nutrition (Am J Clin Nutr) Vol. 100 Issue 4 Pg. 1029-35 (Oct 2014) ISSN: 1938-3207 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25099552 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
• Copyright: © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

Chemical References

• Calcium, Dietary

Topics

• Calcium, Dietary (administration & dosage)
• Cardiovascular Diseases (complications, epidemiology, mortality)
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 (complications, epidemiology, mortality)
• Dietary Supplements
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Proportional Hazards Models
• Risk Factors
• Vascular Calcification (complications, epidemiology, mortality)