Calcium supplements have long been considered important to bone health for older individuals. That belief is now being challenged by the results of a new study by the osteometabolic unit of the Gaetano Pini Institute in Italy.
Their research of over 800 women showed that those who consumed lower amonts of calcium through dairy products were diagnosed with hypertension and osteoporsis at a rate 35% higher than those who consumed more calcium.
Maria Manara, one of the lead authors of the study, of the Gaetano Pini Institute in Milan, Italy, said:
"Our study confirms that there may be a link between hypertension and low bone mass and that a low calcium intake could be a risk factor for the development of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women".
The study of postmenopausal women were recruited from a larger study done in 2002. The findings were presented at the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy.
The findings are similar to those from another study by Ian Reid of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, which reviewed the results from 11 different clinical trials with over 12,000 participants. That study also found those taking a calcium supplement were at a 30% higher risk of a heart attack.
