Summary: According to researchers, calcium supplements could be associated with an increased risk of developing dementia in older women who have had a stroke or show signs of cerebrovascular disease.
Source: AAN.
According to a new study, calcium supplements may be associated with an increased risk of dementia in older women who have had a stroke or other signs of cerebrovascular disease. The research is published in the August 17, 2016, online issue of Neurology.
Cerebrovascular disease is a group of disorders that affect blood flow in the brain. These diseases, including stroke, are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and increase the risk of developing dementia.
“Osteoporosis is a common problem in the elderly. Because calcium deficiency contributes to osteoporosis, daily calcium intake of 1000 to 1200 mg is recommended. Getting this recommended amount through diet alone can be difficult, so calcium supplements are widely used,” said study author Silke Kern, MD, PhD with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. “Recently, however, the use of supplements and their effect on health has been questioned.”
The study involved 700 dementia-free women between the ages of 70 and 92 who were followed for five years. Participants took a variety of tests at the beginning and end of the study, including tests of memory and thinking skills. A CT brain scan was performed in 447 participants at the start of the study.
Scientists also looked at the use of calcium supplements in the participants and whether they were diagnosed with dementia over the course of the study. A total of 98 women were taking calcium supplements at the start of the study and 54 women had already experienced a stroke. During the study, 54 more women had strokes, and 59 women developed dementia. Among the women who had CT scans, 71 percent had lesions on their brains’ white matter, which is a marker for cerebrovascular disease.
The study found that the women who were treated with calcium supplements were twice as likely to develop dementia than women who did not take supplements. But when the researchers further analyzed the data, they found that the increased risk was only among women with cerebrovascular disease. Women with a history of stroke who took supplements had a nearly seven times increased risk of developing dementia than women with a history of stroke who did not take calcium supplements. Women with white matter lesions who took supplements were three times as likely to develop dementia as women who had white matter lesions and did not take supplements. Women without a history of stroke or women without white matter lesions had no increased risk when taking calcium supplements.
Overall, 14 out of 98 women who took supplements developed dementia, or 14 percent, compared to 45 out of 602 women who did not take supplements, or 8 percent. A total of six out of 15 women with a history of stroke who took supplements developed dementia, compared to 12 out of 93 women with a history of stroke who did not take supplements. Among the women with no history of stroke, 18 out of 83 who took supplements developed dementia, compared to 33 out of the 509 who did not take supplements.
“It is important to note that our study is observational, so we cannot assume that calcium supplements cause dementia,” said Kern. The author also noted that the study was small and results cannot be generalized to the overall population, and additional studies are needed to confirm the findings.
Kern noted that calcium from food affects the body differently than calcium from supplements and appears to be safe or even protective against vascular problems.
Funding: The study was supported by grants from the American Alzheimer’s Association, Swedish Research Council, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare.
Source: Rachel Seroka – AAN
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Original Research: Abstract for “Calcium supplementation and risk of dementia in women with cerebrovascular disease” by Jürgen Kern, Silke Kern, Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, Margda Waern, Xinxin Guo, Anne Börjesson-Hanson, Ingmar Skoog, and Svante Östling in Neurology. Published online August 17 2016 doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000003111
[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]AAN. “Calcium Supplements Linked to Dementia Risk in Women With Certain Health Conditions.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 17 August 2016.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/calcium-dementia-women-4866/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]AAN. (2016, August 17). Calcium Supplements Linked to Dementia Risk in Women With Certain Health Conditions. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved August 17, 2016 from https://neurosciencenews.com/calcium-dementia-women-4866/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]AAN. “Calcium Supplements Linked to Dementia Risk in Women With Certain Health Conditions.” https://neurosciencenews.com/calcium-dementia-women-4866/ (accessed August 17, 2016).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]
Abstract
Calcium supplementation and risk of dementia in women with cerebrovascular disease
Objective: To determine whether calcium supplementation is associated with the development of dementia in women after a 5-year follow-up.
Methods: This was a longitudinal population-based study. The sample was derived from the Prospective Population Study of Women and H70 Birth Cohort Study in Gothenburg, Sweden, and included 700 dementia-free women aged 70–92 years. At baseline in 2000–2001, and at follow-up in 2005–2006, the women underwent comprehensive neuropsychiatric and somatic examinations. A CT scan was performed in 447 participants at baseline. Information on the use and dosage of calcium supplements was collected. Dementia was diagnosed according to DSM-III-R criteria.
Results: Women treated with calcium supplements (n = 98) were at a higher risk of developing dementia (odds ratio [OR] 2.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–4.37, p = 0.046) and the subtype stroke-related dementia (vascular dementia and mixed dementia) (OR 4.40, 95% CI 1.54–12.61, p = 0.006) than women not given supplementation (n = 602). In stratified analyses, calcium supplementation was associated with the development of dementia in groups with a history of stroke (OR 6.77, 95% CI 1.36–33.75, p = 0.020) or presence of white matter lesions (OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.28–6.96, p = 0.011), but not in groups without these conditions.
Conclusions: Calcium supplementation may increase the risk of developing dementia in elderly women with cerebrovascular disease. Because our sample was relatively small and the study was observational, these findings need to be confirmed.
“Calcium supplementation and risk of dementia in women with cerebrovascular disease” by Jürgen Kern, Silke Kern, Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, Margda Waern, Xinxin Guo, Anne Börjesson-Hanson, Ingmar Skoog, and Svante Östling in Neurology. Published online August 17 2016 doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000003111
