High overall intake of calcium was linked to lower risk for incident atherosclerosis in a new analysis of the MESA cohort, but use of calcium supplements was linked to elevated risk for development of coronary artery calcium.

    The researchers analyzed 5,448 participants (52% women) from the MESA cohort study aged 45 to 84 years without CVD at baseline. At baseline, participants were stratified into quintiles by total calcium intake from diet and from calcium supplements. 

    All participants had coronary artery calcium (CAC) measured by CT at baseline and 2,742 had it measured again at 10 years. Mean calcium intake was 313.3 mg per day in the lowest quintile, 540.3 mg per day in the second-lowest, 783 mg per day in the middle quintile, 1,168.9 mg per day in the second-highest and 2,157.4 mg per day in the highest quintile, with women having higher intake than men, John J.B. Anderson, PhD, from the department of nutrition, Gilling's School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues reported. 

    After adjustment for potential confounders, among those without CAC at baseline, the risk for developing CAC at 10 years declined with increasing quintile of overall calcium intake.

    Compared with those in the lowest quintile, the RRs for incident CAC at 10 years were 0.95 (95% CI, 0.79-1.14) in the second-lowest, 1.02 (95% CI, 0.85-1.23) in the middle, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.69-1.05) in the second-highest and 0.73 (95% CI, 0.57-0.93) in the highest, according to the researchers.

    However, after adjusting for total calcium intake, greater use of calcium supplements was associated with increased risk for development of CAC (RR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.07-1.39), they found. There was no relationship between calcium intake and changes in CAC in those who had CAC greater than 0 at baseline, Anderson and colleagues wrote

Source: QNA