Relationships between vascular calcification, calcium metabolism, bone density, and fractures

Factors involved with calcium metabolism, such as serum calcium and phosphate and calcium intake, have been associated with vascular disease in different populations. We investigated whether this association is mediated via increased vascular calcification by assessing relationships between these factors and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) and coronary artery calcification (CAC). A total of 1471 healthy postmenopausal women participated in a 5‐year randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of calcium 1 g/day, and 323 healthy middle‐aged and older men participated in a 2‐year randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of calcium 600 or 1200 mg/day. AAC was assessed on vertebral morphometric images at baseline and follow‐up. Based on computed tomography, 163 men had CAC assessed, on average, 1.5 years after study completion. In elderly women, AAC was positively related to serum calcium (p