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Calcium and Vitamin D Nutritional Needs of Elderly Women^1,2,

Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111

Because osteoporosis is irreversible, the most effective approach to reduce morbidity and mortality from this disease is to maximize peak bone mass and minimize bone loss. This presentation reviews the evidence that calcium and vitamin D influence rates of bone loss in postmenopausal women. In the first five or more years after menopause, women lose bone very rapidly. During this period, high dose calcium supplementation modestly reduces cortical loss from long bones but has minimal effect on more trabecular sites such as the spine. In addition, vitamin Dappears to enhance the effectiveness of supplemental calcium. Late postmenopausal women are generally more responsive to added calcium, and those with the lowest dietary calcium intakes benefit the most. In calciumreplete women, supplementation with vitamin D reduces bone loss and fracture incidence. Available evidence indicates that postmenopausal women should consume 1000–1500 mg of calcium and 400 to 800 KI of vitamin D per day to minimize bone loss.

KEY WORDS: • calcium • vitamin D • bone density • osteoporosis • postmenopausal women

¹ Presented as part of the Symposium: "Nutritional Advances in Human Bone Metabolism" given at the Experimental Biology '95 meeting, Atlanta, GA, on April 11, 1995. This symposium was sponsored by the American Institute of Nutrition and supported in part by the National Dairy Council. Guest editor for the symposium publication was John J. B. Anderson, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.

² The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of tradenames, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

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