Long-Term Effect of Randomization to Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation on Health in Older Women : Postintervention Follow-up of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, published as a randomized controlled trial.

To evaluate long-term health outcomes among postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative CaD trial.

Why It Was Studied

Although calcium and vitamin D (CaD) supplementation may affect chronic disease in older women, evidence of long-term effects on health outcomes is limited.

Hip fracture and CVD outcomes were available on only a subset of participants, and effects of calcium versus vitamin D versus joint supplementation could not be disentangled.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 36,282 women taking part.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were older adults, women only.

36 282 postmenopausal women with no history of breast or colorectal cancer.

Incidence of colorectal, invasive breast, and total cancer; disease-specific and all-cause mortality; total cardiovascular disease (CVD); and hip fracture by randomization assignment (through December 2020).

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, placebo-controlled and multicenter study.

The women were allocated by chance, so the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group and the comparison group should start out alike.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc group a baseline to be compared against.

Running at several centres spread the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study over different clinics and patient groups.

Post hoc analysis of long-term postintervention follow-up of the 7-year randomized intervention trial of CaD.

A multicenter (n = 40) trial across the United States.

Analyses were stratified on personal supplement use.

What Was Measured

Although calcium and vitamin D (CaD) supplementation may affect chronic disease in older women, evidence of long-term effects on health outcomes is limited.

Hip fracture and CVD outcomes were available on only a subset of participants, and effects of calcium versus vitamin D versus joint supplementation could not be disentangled.

The subject headings attached to it are United States, Calcium, Calcium, Dietary, Dietary Supplements, Vitamin D, Vitamins and Neoplasms.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, placebo-controlled and multicenter study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 36,282 women.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

Results are reported in around 4 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2024 (Annals of internal medicine), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.