Calcium Supplements Increase Dementia Risk?

Is it a case of “solve one problem, create another?” New research from Sweden has found that 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 five-year study involved 700 women between the ages of 70 and 92 who did not have dementia. The participants, tested at the outset and the completion of the study, were assessed for use of calcium supplements and whether they were diagnosed with dementia during the study period.

As indicated in the August 17, 2016 news release, “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%, compared to 45 out of 602 women who did not take supplements, or 8%. 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 co-author author Silke Kern, M.D., Ph.D. with the University of Gothenburg.

Dr. Kern told OTW, “I work as a consultant neurologist at the Memory Clinic of the University Hospital of Gothenburg and during the past years I observed that patients with calcium supplementation got more vascular dementia than could be explained by their vascular risk alone. So I discussed this idea with my professors Ingmar Skoog, Kaj Blennow and Henrik Zetterberg from the Sahlgrenska Academy and we decided to look more closely into it.

“Our study is the first to show that calcium supplementation may increase the risk of developing dementia in elderly women with cerebrovascular disease.

“As this was an observational study, our findings need to be replicated before any recommendations can be made. In women with cerebrovascular disease and osteoporosis, women can discuss this new information with their clinicians. Clinicians may then consider this new information and assess risks and benefits in each individual patient.”