Abstract
There are striking inequities in calcium intake between rich and poor populations. Appropriate calcium intake has shown many health benefits, such as reduction of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, lower blood pressure particularly among young people, prevention of osteoporosis and colorectal adenomas, lower cholesterol values, and lower blood pressure in the progeny of mothers taking sufficient calcium during pregnancy. Studies have refuted some calcium supplementation side effects like damage to the iron status, formation of renal stones and myocardial infarction in older people. Attention should be given to bone resorption in post-partum women after calcium supplementation withdrawal. Mechanisms linking low calcium intake and blood pressure are mediated by parathyroid hormone raise that increases intracellular calcium in vascular smooth muscle cells leading to vasoconstriction. At the population level, an increase of around 400–500 mg/day could reduce the differences in calcium intake between high- and middle-low-income countries. The fortification of food and water seems a possible strategy to reach this goal.
Highlights
Calcium is a mineral involved in a large number of vital functions [1,2]
A systematic review that included 13 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and 15730 pregnant women estimated that calcium supplementation compared to placebo reduced the high blood pressure relative risk (RR) to 0.65, and, with low quality of evidence, the risk of preeclampsia by 55%, with RR 0.45, [49]
This review reported cardiovascular events clinically verified by hospital records or death certificates and found that the RR for all-cause mortality was 0.96, that for CHD events was 1.02 and that for myocardial infarction was 1.08
Summary
Calcium is a mineral involved in a large number of vital functions [1,2]. research on the role of calcium has been primarily focused on bone health, the effects of either dietary calcium or calcium supplements have been oriented towards other health outcomes lately. An observation made in the 1980s drew attention to the relationship between calcium intake and preeclampsia/eclampsia during pregnancy [3]. This originated from the evaluation of the Mayan diet in Guatemala consisting of soaking and cooking corn with limewater before grinding and the consequent high intake of calcium found to be associated with a low frequency of preeclampsia/eclampsia [4]. The objective of this article is to update the various effects of calcium on health supported by findings in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with considerations of its availability and intake and propose suggestions for strategies to achieve adequate intake
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