title: Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and height loss: findings from the Women's Health Initiative Calcium and Vitamin D clinical trial.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the associations between calcium + vitamin D supplementation (vs placebo) and height loss in 36,282 participants of the Women's Health Initiative Calcium and Vitamin D trial.
  
  
  
  Post hoc analysis of data from a double-blind randomized controlled trial of 1,000 mg of elemental calcium as calcium carbonate with 400 IU of vitamin D3 daily (CaD) or placebo in postmenopausal women at 40 US clinical centers. Height was measured annually (mean follow-up 5.9 y) with a stadiometer.
  
  
  
  Average height loss was 1.28 mm/y among participants assigned to CaD versus 1.26 mm/y for women assigned to placebo (P = 0.35). Effect modification of the CaD intervention was not observed by age, race/ethnicity, or baseline intake of calcium or vitamin D. Randomization to the CaD group did not reduce the risk of clinical height loss (loss of ≥1.5 inches [3.8 cm]: hazard ratio (95% CI) = 1.00 (0.81, 1.23). A strong association (P < 0.001) was observed between age group and height loss. When we censored follow-up data in participants who became nonadherent to study pills, the results were similar to those of our primary analysis.
  
  
  
  Compared with placebo, the CaD supplement used in this trial did not prevent height loss in healthy postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: 1Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA 2WHI Clinical Coordinating Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 3Endocrine, Skeletal Health and Osteoporosis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 4Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 5Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 6Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 7HealthPartners Institute, Minneapolis, MN 8Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Carolyn J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Crandall
authors.forename: Aaron K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Aragaki
authors.forename: Meryl S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: LeBoff
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wactawski-Wende
authors.forename: Jane A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cauley
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Margolis
authors.forename: JoAnn E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Manson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects*; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000187:drug effects*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D014815:Vitamins; D002762:Cholecalciferol; D002119:Calcium Carbonate