Calcium supplement ingestion may alter lumbar spine bone mineral density measurement.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Calcium and Calcium Carbonate, published as a randomized controlled trial.

Densitometry centers commonly request patients abstain from ingesting calcium supplements prior to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) examination to avoid interference with bone mineral density (BMD) measurement.

However, it is not clear that this practice is necessary.

Who Took Part

The study group was 2 subjects.

The age groups tagged for this paper are middle-aged adults, older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized.

Because people in this Calcium study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

What Was Measured

Densitometry centers commonly request patients abstain from ingesting calcium supplements prior to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) examination to avoid interference with bone mineral density (BMD) measurement.

This study assessed the impact of recent calcium supplement intake on lumbar spine BMD measurement.

The subject headings attached to it are Absorptiometry, Photon, Bone Density, Calcium, Calcium Carbonate, Dietary Supplements, Lumbar Vertebrae and Tablets.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Calcium and Calcium Carbonate in 2 subjects.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2006 (Journal of clinical densitometry : the official journal of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry), a journal based in United States.

More context: all human trials.