Doctors are recommending that people over 50 take supplements of calcium to reduce the risk of bone damage if they fall, as a study in the Lancet medical journal today suggests that daily pills can prevent one in four fractures in the over-50s.
The findings will add to the increasing number of pills many older people are recommended to take and renew suggestions that some should consider a daily "polypill", including cholesterol-busting statins, aspirin and calcium.
University of Western Sydney scientists pooled the results of 17 studies involving more than 50,000 people over 50 who were given calcium supplements. They discovered that supplements reduced the risk of fractures by 12% but when the proper dose of 1200mg was taken every day the risk was reduced by 24%.
Benjamin Tang, the lead author, said: "If you're fit, healthy and have a very good diet then at 50 perhaps it's optional but the older you get and the poorer diet you have the more definite the benefit."
But the study also suggested that many people are not taking strong enough doses of calcium, or not taking them regularly enough, to reap the full benefits. "Unfortunately most of the tablets are low dosage," said Dr Tang.
Fractures are a major cause of injury in older people and particularly women, who suffer a faster loss of bone density after the menopause. Osteoporosis, the loss of bone density, is thought to cost the NHS an estimated £1.7bn a year for hip fractures alone. Women have a one in six chance of fracturing a bone after the age of 50 and men a one in 20 chance.
The Food Standards Agency recommends that people should be able to get all the necessary calcium from a balanced diet. Bread and margarine have been fortified with calcium since the second world war.
Last month the heart czar, Roger Boyle, suggested that every man from the age of 50 and women from 60 or 65 should be put on statins to lower their cholesterol. His comments led to suggestions that a polypill combining a range of vitamins and medications should be available which would include calcium.
Dr Tang said the side effects of the correct dose of calcium were minimal with only a small number of people suffering mild stomach upsets. Most of the research he surveyed was based on women, who have a far higher chance of developing osteoporosis, and the advice would differ for men.
Sarah Leyland of the National Osteoporosis Society said: "The fracture risk reduction with supplementation seems to be in the older age group and this sits with what the NOS recommends." The society suggests people with osteoporosis may benefit from a daily intake of 1000 -1200mg of calcium.
