* Approximately 32,000 pre- and postmenopausal women were followed for an average of 10 years as part of the Women's Health Study to determine if calcium and vitamin D have a protective effect against breast cancer.
* A higher intake of calcium and vitamin D was moderately associated with a lower risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women.
* Increased levels of calcium and vitamin D did not protect against breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Shaun’s comment: There are good data from studies conducted in animals showing that calcium and vitamin D may prevent breast cancer and further evidence is provided from this huge study. Higher intakes of calcium and vitamin D were associated with a lower chance of getting breast cancer, but only in women who had not yet had their menopause. Further, this protective effect seemed to be more pronounced for more aggressive forms of the cancer. However, as regular readers will know well, this association does not prove that the calcium and vitamin D cause this reduction – there is a chance that it could be a coincidental finding.
Study reference:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/167/10/1050
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