Long-term effect of calcium-vitamin D3 fortified milk on blood pressure and serum lipid concentrations in healthy older men

Background/Objectives: Some epidemiological and clinical studies have shown that increased dairy consumption or calcium and/or vitamin D supplementation can have a beneficial effect on blood pressure, and lipid and lipoprotein concentrations. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effects of calcium-vitamin D 3 fortified milk on blood pressure and lipid-lipoprotein concentrations in community-dwelling older men. Subjects/Methods: This is a substudy of a 2-year randomized controlled trial in which 167 men aged >50 years were assigned to receive either 400 ml per day of reduced fat (∼1%) milk fortified with approximately 1000 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D 3 or to a control group receiving no additional fortified milk. Weight, blood pressure, lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were measured every 6 months. Participants on lipid-lowering ( n =32) or antihypertensive medication ( n =39) were included, but those who commenced, increased or decreased their medication throughout the intervention were excluded ( n =27). Results: In the 140 men included in this study (milk, n =73; control, n =67), there were no significant effects of the calcium-vitamin D 3 fortified milk on weight, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglyceride concentrations at any time throughout the intervention. Similar results were observed after excluding men taking antihypertensive or lipid-lowering medication or limiting the analysis to those with baseline calcium intakes