title: Vitamin D and calcium: what do we need to know?
abstract: This chapter provides a summary of the literature including results from large trials, meta-analyses, and recent major recommendations. Two well-accepted and recent recommendations include those from the Agency for Health Research and Quality on calcium and vitamin D supplementation and from the Institute of Medicine's dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D. This review suggests that there is strong evidence for synergistic roles of calcium and vitamin D in maintaining bone health in postmenopausal women, but the correlation between vitamin D alone and bone health is overall inconclusive.
authors.affiliation: Departments of *ObGyn; §Internal Medicine, The Reading Hospital and Medical Center, Reading; Departments of †ObGyn; ∥Internal Medicine, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; ‡Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Portland, Maine.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xuezhi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Yousaf Z
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Farukhi
authors.forename: Clifford J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Schnatz
mesh_terms: D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D058866:Osteoporotic Fractures / Q000517:prevention & control; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D