New Study Reaffirms Calcium Safety for Heart Health

Washington, D.C., October 11, 2016In response to a study, “Calcium Intake from Diet and Supplements and the Risk of Coronary Artery Calcification and its Progression among Older Adults: 10-year Follow-up of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA),” published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, issued the following statement:

Statement by Duffy MacKay, ND, senior vice president, scientific & regulatory affairs, CRN: 

“This observational study demonstrated that people with the highest total calcium intake from both food and dietary supplements had the lowest risk of coronary artery calcification. This confirms the safety of calcium supplementation for heart health, which has been the conclusion of several large studies1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in recent years. Consumers should have confidence in the safety of calcium supplements, and women in particular should be aiming to get the targeted daily amount of calcium through a combination of diet and supplementation.”

1 Lewis JR, Radavelli-Bagatini S, Rejnmark L, et al. The Effects of Calcium Supplementation on Verified Coronary Heart Disease Hospitalization and Death in Postmenopausal Women: A Collaborative Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Bone Miner Res. 2014; July 10 (Published online ahead of print).

2 Paik JM, Curhan GC, Sun Q, et al. Calcium supplement intake and risk of cardiovascular disease in women. Osteoporos Int. 2014; May 7 (Published online ahead of print).

3 Prentice RL, Pettinger MB, Jackson RD, et al. Health risks and benefits from calcium and vitamin D supplementation: Women’s Health Initiative clinical trial and cohort study. Osteoporos Int. 2013; 24(2):567-580.

4 Downing L, Islam MA. Influence of calcium supplements on the occurrence of cardiovascular events. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2013; 70(13):1132-9.

5 Samelson EJ, Booth SL, Fox CS, et al. Calcium intake is not associated with increased coronary artery calcification: the Framingham Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012; 96(6):1274-80.

Note to Editor: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 150+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as to CRN’s Code of Ethics. Visit www.crnusa.org. Follow us on Twitter @crn_supplements and @wannabewell and on Facebook.