USPSTF Advises Against Calcium, Vitamin D to Prevent Fractures

cp418

USPSTF Advises Against Calcium, Vitamin D Supplements To Prevent Fractures.

NBC Nightly News (6/12, story 9, 0:50, Williams) reported, "Another big deal for post menopausal women taking vitamin D supplements and calcium." NBC News medical editor Nancy Snyderman, MD, added that the United States Preventive Services Task Force "has said that vitamin D and calcium supplements in the normal doses that are prescribed do not really prevent osteoporotic breaks and fractures, and they're saying, frankly, there's not enough evidence to recommend that people take them in routine dosages. They are, however, saying, the higher dosages for women over the age of 65, the jury is still out."

        The New York Times (6/13, A15, Kolata, Subscription Publication) reports, "The United States Preventive Services Task Force, an influential group that recently recommended against routine P.S.A. tests to detect prostate cancer, issued a draft statement on Tuesday recommending that healthy postmenopausal women should not take low doses of calcium or vitamin D supplements to prevent fractures." The task force "also considered use of the supplements by healthy premenopausal women and men. For those groups, it said, there was insufficient evidence to recommend taking vitamin D with or without calcium to prevent fractures."

        The CBS (6/13, Jaslow) "Healthpop" blog notes that "vitamin D is produced naturally by the body from exposure to sunlight, but it's also fortified in milks, cereals and other foods. Previous research suggests vitamin D may interact with certain genes in the body to protect against cancers such as colorectal cancer."

        USA Today (6/13, Lloyd, Szabo, Hellmich) quotes Timothy Wilt, the lead author of the panel report, as saying that "the science is still out for pre-menopausal women and men" regarding low-dose supplements and fractures, and that "many people take the supplements, but the science was insufficient to make recommendations for everyone." The article adds that "some health experts don't agree with the task force recommendation and say women should weigh options with their physicians based on their own ethnicity, diet and sun exposure, a major source of vitamin D." The Boston Globe (6/13, Kotz) "Daily Dose" blog, The NPR (6/13) "Shots" blog, the Time (6/13, Song) "Healthland" blog, Reuters (6/13, Seaman), MedPage Today (6/13, Gever), HealthDay (6/13, Gardner) and WebMD (6/13, Mann) offer similar coverage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/health/calcium-and-vitamin-d-ineffective-for-fractures-us-preventive-services-task-force-says.html?_r=1

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57451854-10391704/panel-postmenopausal-women-shouldnt-take-vitamin-d-calcium-supplements-to-prevent-fractures/

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-06-07/panel-vitamin-d-recommendations/55549414/1

otter

This is all confusing and worrisome.

Although it won't help clarify anything, here's a link to the USPSTF website with the actual recommendations: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/draftrec3.htm

I always like to go to the source.

otter

cp418

IMO these recommendations made no sense what so ever to assist the older population or breast cancer patients taking AIs.  So much for guidance from the experts.....

otter

Yeah.... no kidding.