Effects of Calcium Supplementation on Circulating Lipids
- 1 January 2004
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Drugs & Aging
- Vol. 21 (1), 7-17
- https://doi.org/10.2165/00002512-200421010-00002
Abstract
For about a century there has been recognition that calcium and lipids bind to one another in the gut, each interfering with the other’s absorption. Calcium also causes malabsorption of bile acids, which is likely to contribute further to malabsorption of fat. High dietary calcium intakes may also have stimulatory effects on lipolysis. These mechanisms provide a basis for hypothesising that calcium supplementation may impact on circulating lipid concentrations, and there is now a significant amount of observational and trial data indicating that this is the case. The largest randomised controlled trial of calcium effects on lipids was carried out in 223 healthy postmenopausal women, and found that low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) decreased 6.3% and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) increased by 7.3% at 1-year. The resultant 16.4% increase in HDL-C/LDL-C ratio would be predicted to reduce cardiovascular event rates by 20–30%, which is consistent with the available observational data. There are no trial data addressing this question and it is possible that other lipid-lowering agents, such as hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, might impact on cardiac event rates by mechanisms other than by lowering cholesterol levels. Therefore, caution is appropriate in incorporating these findings into clinical practice, but the balance of evidence suggests that calcium is a cost-effective adjunct to the dietary management of hyperlipidaemia.Keywords
This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit:
- MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study of cholesterol lowering with simvastatin in 20 536 high-risk individuals: a randomised placebocontrolled trialThe Lancet, 2002
- Effect of Calcium Supplementation on Serum Cholesterol and Blood Pressure: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical TrialArchives of Family Medicine, 2000
- Effect of Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation on Bone Density in Men and Women 65 Years of Age or OlderNew England Journal of Medicine, 1997
- Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease with Pravastatin in Men with HypercholesterolemiaNew England Journal of Medicine, 1995
- Randomised trial of cholesterol lowering in 4444 patients with coronary heart disease: the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S)The Lancet, 1994
- Calcium Intake and 28-Year Cardiovascular and Coronary Heart Disease Mortality in Dutch Civil ServantsInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 1992
- Blood Pressure and Nutrient Intake in the United StatesScience, 1984
- ISCHÆMIC-HEART-DISEASE MORTALITY AND DIETARY INTAKE OF CALCIUMThe Lancet, 1973
- Effects of oral calcium upon serum cholesterol and triglycerides in patients with hyperlipidemiaAtherosclerosis, 1971
- Effects of Oral Calcium upon Serum Lipids in ManBMJ, 1965