Calcium Supplements and Fracture Prevention

To the Editor: Bauer (Oct. 17 issue) 1 misrepresents the rationale for the reanalysis of the results of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial. Because 54% of the participants were already taking calcium supplements at baseline, the trial effectively compared higher versus lower doses of calcium and cannot answer the question of whether taking calcium supplements alters the risk of cardiovascular events. 2 My colleagues and I addressed this question by restricting analyses to participants who were not taking calcium supplements at baseline, and we reported that the use of calcium (with vitamin D) increased cardiovascular risk. 2 The WHI trial also showed . . .