Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In a 17 year followup study of 227 adults, those who took 37-1130 mg/day of calcium had brain lesions that were significantly greater by 40% than non-supplement users.
In a 2014 study (1), researchers analyzed data on 227 adults (79 males, 148 females) between the ages of 70 and 73 participating in the NeuroCognitive Outcomes of Depression in the Elderly Study, which lasted from 1994 to 2011(2). Subjects completed a food questionnaire every year (3) and had MRI brain scans done every 2 years. The subjects were further divided into those who consumed calcium supplements (149 adults averaging 37-1,130 milligrams per day) and those who did not (78 adults).
After controlling for food Ca intake, age, sex, race, years of education, energy intake, depression and high blood pressure, the researchers found that calcium supplement users had brain lesions with volumes 40% greater than non-supplement users (p = 0.0011). A surprising finding was that neither the amount (p = 0.81) nor duration (p = 0.35) of calcium supplementation affected brain lesion occurrence, leading the researchers to speculate that “It is possible that even small-dose supplements may be harmful, perhaps by stressing the calcium homeostatic mechanism” (Unfortunately, the researchers did not expand on this statement).
When suggesting how calcium supplements may be responsible for the brain lesions, the researchers suggested that “large quantities of calcium found in a single dose of a supplement have been found to cause a substantial and rapid increase in calcium concentrations (4) which in turn may promote the development of calcium deposits in blood vessels (i.e. arterial calcification).”
For the researchers, “These findings indicate that adverse biochemical effects of supplemental calcium use may exist in older adults, regardless of the dose” but that “These results should be considered preliminary, given the cross-sectional design” and that “Evaluation of randomized controlled trials is warranted to examine the potential for the occurrence for a relationship between calcium supplement use and lesion development.”
Source: Payne, Martha E., et al. “Elevated brain lesion volumes in older adults who use calcium supplements: a cross-sectional clinical observational study.” British Journal of Nutrition 112.02 (2014): 220-227.
© The Authors 2014
Posted April 28, 2015.
References:
- Payne ME. Elevated brain lesion volumes in older adults who use calcium supplements: a cross-sectional clinical observational study. Br J Nutr 2014 Jul;112(2):220-7. doi: 10.1017/S0007114514000828. Epub 2014 Apr 30
- Steffens DC, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Burke JR, et al. Methodology and preliminary results from the neurocognitive outcomes of depression in the elderly study. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2004;17:202–211
- Payne ME, Hybels CF, Bales CW, et al. Vascular nutritional correlates of late-life depression. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2006; 14:787–795
- Karp HJ, Ketola ME & Lamberg-Allardt CJ. Acute effects of calcium carbonate, calcium citrate and potassium citrate on markers of calcium and bone metabolism in young women. Br J Nutr 2009; 102, 1341–1347.
