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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #340729
Title: The association of calcium supplementation and incident cardiovascular events in the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Author
item RAFFIELD, LAURA - UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
item AGARWAL, SUBHASHISH - NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
item HSU, FANG - WAKE FOREST SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
item DE BOER, IAN - UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
item IX, JOACHIM - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
item SISCOVICK, DAVID - NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE
item SZKLO, MOYSES - JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
item BURKE, GREGORY - WAKE FOREST SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
item FRAZIER-WOOD, ALEXIS - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)
item HERRINGTON, DAVID - WAKE FOREST SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Submitted to: Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2016
Publication Date: 10/1/2016
Citation: Raffield, L.M., Agarwal, S., Hsu, F.C., De Boer, I.H., Ix, J.H., Siscovick, D., Szklo, M., Burke, G.L., Frazier-Wood, A.C., Herrington, D.M. 2016. The association of calcium supplementation and incident cardiovascular events in the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease. 26(10):899-907.

Interpretive Summary: Many US adults take calcium supplements, however, the problem is that recent reports have suggested that taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this study, we looked to see whether adults taking calcium supplements experienced more myocardial infarction or would see a doctor because of damage to their heart muscle (known as an adverse cardiovascular event) over a 10 year period in approximately 6,000 men and women ages 45-90. We found that people who only took a small amount of calcium as a supplement actually has less myocardial infarctions than those who did not take calcium supplements. We did not find a difference in adverse cardiovascular events between these groups of people. This research may have important implications for doctors and health agencies delivering advice on the use of calcium supplements.

Technical Abstract: Many US adults use calcium supplements to address inadequate dietary intake and improve bone health. However, recent reports have suggested that use of calcium supplements may elevate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In this study, we examined associations between baseline calcium supplement use and incident myocardial infarction (MI) (n = 208 events) and CVD events (n = 641 events) over 10.3 years in men and women from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort (n = 6236), with dietary calcium intake at baseline also examined as a supplementary objective. Using Cox proportional hazards models, no compelling associations between calcium intake from supplements or diet and incident CVD events were observed upon multivariate adjustment for potential confounders. An association with lower MI risk was observed comparing those with low levels of calcium supplement use (1-499 mg) to those using no calcium supplements (hazard ratio 0.69, 95% CI 0.48, 0.98, p = 0.039). Relationships were homogeneous by gender, race/ethnicity, or chronic kidney disease. Results were also similar when the analysis was limited to postmenopausal women only. Analysis of incident MI and CVD events in the MESA cohort does not support a substantial association of calcium supplement use with negative cardiovascular outcomes.