Vitamin D, Calcium Supplements, and Implications for Cardiovascular Health: JACC Focus Seminar.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether calcium supplements are helpful, harmful, or neutral for cardiovascular health.
Results Summary
Some observational and RCT studies suggested potential cardiovascular harm from calcium supplementation, while others did not. The authors recommend cautious use of calcium supplements, favoring dietary sources.
Population
Not specified (general population inferred).
Effective Dosage
Not specified.
Duration
Not specified.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vitamin D and calcium supplements | neutral | bone health | - | - | commonly used, often together, to optimize | #1 |
low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations | increase | cardiovascular risk | - | - | linked with increased | #2 |
vitamin D supplementation | no change | cardiovascular benefit | - | - | failed to demonstrate | #3 |
vitamin D supplements | no change | cardiovascular health | - | - | do not appear to be harmful for | #4 |
calcium supplementation | increase | cardiovascular harm | - | - | have suggested potential for | #5 |
Vitamin D and calcium supplements are commonly used, often together, to optimize bone health. Multiple observational studies have linked low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations with increased cardiovascular risk. However, subsequent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) failed to demonstrate cardiovascular benefit with vitamin D supplementation. Although vitamin D supplements do not appear to be harmful for cardiovascular health, the lack of benefit in RCTs should discourage their use for this purpose, favoring optimizing vitamin D status through healthy lifestyles such as specific foods and modest sunlight exposure. Furthermore, some (but not all) observational and RCT studies of calcium supplementation have suggested potential for cardiovascular harm. Therefore, calcium supplementation should be used cautiously, striving for recommended intake of calcium predominantly from food sources. In this review, the authors examine the currently available evidence investigating whether vitamin D and calcium supplements are helpful, harmful, or neutral for cardiovascular health.