A new study shows that taking calcium and vitamin D supplementation does not reduce the severity of joint symptoms for postmenopausal women.
The study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, used data from the Women’s Health Initiative, according to a news release from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
“Joint problems are relatively common in postmenopausal women. However, daily supplementation with 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate and 400 IU of vitamin D3 in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial setting did not reduce the self-reported frequency or severity of joint symptoms,” said Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, lead investigator from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
That said, researchers cautioned that their findings do not “speak against current recommendations for vitamin D intakes for bone health and fracture risk reduction,” the news release states.
In previous studies, the influence of low calcium and vitamin D deficiency on joint symptoms has shown mixed results. While some observational studies have associated vitamin D with knee osteoarthritis, results from full-scale randomized trials have been sparse, according to the release.
“In the current study, we addressed for the first time in a full-scale, randomized clinical trial setting, the clinically relevant question of whether postmenopausal women using calcium and vitamin D supplements in currently recommended dosage would experience any favorable effect on joint pain or swelling, common symptoms of in postmenopausal women,” Chlebowski said.
Researchers followed more than 1,900 postmenopausal women for two years. Their analysis revealed “no statistically significant difference for the frequency or severity of joint pain or swelling.”
Source: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
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