The Effect of Calcium and Vitamin D Intake in Controlling the Progression of Osteoporosis

This study aimed to investigate the risk factors and the effectiveness of calcium and vitamin D intake in controlling the progression of osteoporosis.

This was a retrospective medical records study of the patients with osteoporosis, assessed from 2014 to 2018 in the bone density measurement center of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz. Patients with a T-score of less than -2.5 and patients with at least two repeat tests in their medical records were included. After collecting patient information, the correlation between osteoporosis and  positive or negative  history of underlying disease or family history was evaluated. The effectiveness of calcium and vitamin D in controlling the progression of osteoporosis in those patients was also assessed.

16% of patients had a positive family history and 51% of patients had an underlying disease that was not significantly associated with osteoporosis. Decreased bone density in the spine area and femoral neck was significantly lower in people without basal calcium deficiency disease (P = 0.04). Changes in bone density between patients with and without underlying disease receiving calcium-D supplementation were significantly different (P = 0.02) so that in people with underlying disease, the decrease in bone density was significantly higher. There was no significant difference in changes in bone density in the spine and femoral neck between patients with and without the underlying disease who had not received calcium-D supplementation (P = 0.64).

Based on the results of the present study, there was no significant correlation between low densitometry measurements and osteoporosis in those with underlying problems like old age, nutritional factors, lifestyle and inactivity, smoking, menopause in women and low testosterone levels in men. It is important to pay attention to other risk factors in this population of patients. Calcium-D supplementation had shown a meaningful efficacy in patients without underlying disease, but this efficacy was not observed in patients with underlying disease.