Calcium Supplements May Up Women's Dementia Risk
September 19, 2016
By Dennis Thompson
Taking calcium supplements with the hope of keeping osteoporosis at bay may raise an older woman's risk of dementia, a new study suggests.
And that seems particularly true if a woman has already sustained an event causing poor blood flow to the brain (cerebrovascular disease), such as from a stroke, researchers said.
The study can't prove cause-and-effect. However, dementia risk was seven times higher in female stroke survivors who took calcium supplements, compared to women with a history of stroke who didn't use the supplements, the findings showed.
The risk of dementia also was three times higher in women with white matter brain lesions who took calcium supplements, compared to women with white matter lesions who didn't take the supplements. Lesions in white matter tissue are evidence of a mini-stroke or some other problem impeding blood flow within the brain.
Because the study can't prove causality, "women with cerebrovascular disease and osteoporosis should discuss this new information with their clinicians," said lead researcher Dr. Silke Kern. She is a neuropsychiatric researcher at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.