JoAnn E Manson, Matthew A Allison, J Jeffrey Carr, Robert D Langer, Barbara B Cochrane, Susan L Hendrix, Judith Hsia, Julie R Hunt, Cora E Lewis, Karen L Margolis, Jennifer G Robinson, Rebecca J Rodabough, Asha M Thomas
OBJECTIVE: Coronary artery calcified plaque is a marker for atheromatous plaque burden and predicts future risk of cardiovascular events. The relationship between calcium plus vitamin D (calcium/D) supplementation and coronary artery calcium (CAC) has not been previously assessed in a randomized trial setting. We compared CAC scores after trial completion between women randomized to calcium/vitamin D supplementation and women randomized to placebo. METHODS: In an ancillary substudy of women randomized to calcium carbonate (1,000 mg of elemental calcium daily) plus vitamin D3 (400 IU daily) or placebo, nested within the Women's Health Initiative trial of estrogen among women who underwent hysterectomy, we measured CAC with cardiac CT in 754 women aged 50 to 59 years at randomization...
July 2010: Menopause: the Journal of the North American Menopause Society