OLDER WOMEN WHO TOOK CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS TWICE A DAY REDUCED THEIR RISK OF BREAKING A BONE, BUT GETTING THEM TO TAKE THE PILLS PROVED TO BE A PROBLEM, RESEARCHERS SAID ON MONDAY, ACCORDING TO REUTERS. NEARLY HALF THE 1,460 HEALTHY WOMEN OLDER THAN 70 WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY DID NOT CONSISTENTLY TAKE THE TWICE-DAILY 600-MILLIGRAM PILLS, WHICH LED THE RESEARCHERS TO DOUBT WHETHER SUPPLEMENTS COULD BE USEFUL AS PREVENTIVE THERAPY. "THE CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTATION REGIMEN TESTED CURRENTLY CANNOT BE RECOMMENDED AS A PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH TO FRACTURE PREVENTION BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF LONG-TERM COMPLIANCE," WROTE STUDY AUTHOR RICHARD PRINCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA IN PERTH. BUT TAKING EXTRA CALCIUM IN SUPPLEMENT FORM DID HELP THOSE WOMEN WHO TOOK THEM CONSISTENTLY, THE REPORT SAID. AMONG THE 310 WOMEN IN THE STUDY WHO TOOK AT LEAST 80 PERCENT OF THEIR ALLOTTED CALCIUM, 10 PERCENT SUFFERED A FRACTURE WITHIN ONE YEAR COMPARED TO 15 PERCENT OF THE 320 WOMEN WHO REGULARLY TOOK A PLACEBO, THE STUDY FOUND. THE STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE ARCHIVES OF INTERNAL MEDICINE INCLUDED HEALTHY WOMEN WHOSE BODIES HAD ADEQUATE LEVELS OF VITAMIN D, ANOTHER IMPORTANT INGREDIENT FOR HEALTHY BONES. MORE THAN HALF OF POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO OSTEOPOROSIS AS THEIR LEVELS OF THE HORMONE ESTROGEN DECLINE, WHICH IN TURN CAUSES THEIR BODIES TO EXCRETE MORE CALCIUM. LOSS OF THE MINERAL CAN LEAD TO LESS FLEXIBLE AND MORE BRITTLE BONES PRONE TO FRACTURE. OF THE 10 MILLION AMERICANS ESTIMATED TO HAVE OSTEOPOROSIS, 8 MILLION ARE WOMEN, ACCORDING THE NATIONAL OSTEOPOROSIS FOUNDATION.
