Letter re: Calcium supplementation and risk of dementia in women with cerebrovascular disease. (21st February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rosenberg, Gilad
• Is Part Of: Neurology. Volume 88:Number 8(2017)
• Page Start: 812
• Page End: 812
• Publication Date: 2017-02-21
• Subjects: Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurologie -- Périodiques; 616.8
• DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000003644
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0028-3878

Abstract

Abstract : Kern et al. 1 reported that calcium supplementation may increase the risk of dementia in elderly women with cerebrovascular disease. Among the possible mechanisms that could explain this association, the authors mentioned "the steep increase in serum calcium levels caused by the supplements." 1 This statement was referenced to a previous publication, 2 which described the supplement-induced increase in serum calcium as "modest" based on the results of an earlier study in young healthy participants. 3 A more recent study in overweight, but otherwise healthy, postmenopausal women administered a single dose of 500 mg elemental calcium supplement after pretreatment with 10 μg 25(OH)D3 and found that the maximal increase in serum level of ionized calcium postdosing was in the vicinity of 0.3 mg/dL (i.e., approximately only 5% of the upper limit of this ion's normal serum concentration); this change peaked 3–5 hours after the supplement's ingestion. 4 Such a small increase over several hours can hardly be termed "steep." The mechanism, if any, linking the increased dementia risk with calcium supplementation should be looked for outside the realm of calcium's pharmacokinetics.