Calcium and Vitamin D Supplements in Postmenopausal Women Reduce Cancer Mortality, reveals study

After a median cumulative follow-up of 22.3 years, this research observed a 7% reduction in the cancer mortality among the women who received CaD supplements when compared to the placebo group. However, there was also a 6% increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality among the CaD group.

The study did not find any overall effect on all-cause mortality, although the estimates for cancer incidence varied depending on whether participants reported supplement use before randomization. The outcomes such as hip fracture and CVD were only noticed in a subset of participants and the effects of calcium versus vitamin D versus joint supplementation could not be fully distinguished. Overall, the calcium and vitamin D supplements appeared to have long-term effects on the postmenopausal women's health, with a reduction in cancer mortality but an increase in CVD mortality.

Reference:

Thomson, C. A., Aragaki, A. K., Prentice, R. L., Stefanick, M. L., Manson, J. E., Wactawski-Wende, J., Watts, N. B., Van Horn, L., Shikany, J. M., Rohan, T. E., Lane, D. S., Wild, R. A., Robles-Morales, R., Shadyab, A. H., Saquib, N., & Cauley, J. (2024). Long-Term Effect of Randomization to Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation on Health in Older Women. In Annals of Internal Medicine. American College of Physicians. https://doi.org/10.7326/m23-2598