title: Calcium and vitamin D supplementation and cognitive impairment in the women's health initiative.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effects of vitamin D and calcium on cognitive outcomes in elderly women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Post hoc analysis of a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical centers across the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four thousand one hundred forty-three women aged 65 and older without probable dementia at baseline who participated in the WHI Calcium and Vitamin D Trial and the WHI Memory Study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two thousand thirty-four women were randomized to receive 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate combined with 400 IU of vitamin D(3) (treatment) and 2,109 to placebo.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary: classifications of probable dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) based on a four-phase protocol that included central adjudication. Secondary: global cognitive function and individual cognitive subtests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age of participants was 71. During a mean follow-up of 7.8 years, 39 participants in the treatment group and 37 in the placebo group developed incident dementia (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.71-1.74, P = .64). Likewise, 98 treatment participants and 108 placebo participants developed incident MCI (HR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.72-1.25, P = .72). There were no significant differences in incident dementia or MCI or in global or domain-specific cognitive function between groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no association between treatment assignment and incident cognitive impairment. Further studies are needed to investigate the effects of vitamin D and calcium separately, on men, in other age and ethnic groups, and with other doses.
authors.affiliation: HealthPartners Research Foundation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Rebecca.C.Rossom@Healthpartners.com
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Rossom
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Espeland
authors.forename: Joann E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Manson
authors.forename: Maurice W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Dysken
authors.forename: Karen C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Dorothy S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: Erin S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: LeBlanc
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Lederle
authors.forename: Kamal H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Masaki
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Margolis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D002762:Cholecalciferol; D002119:Calcium Carbonate