Higher calcium intake linked to reduced colorectal cancer risk

Higher calcium intake is associated with reduced colorectal cancer (CRC) risk across tumor sites and calcium sources, according to a study published online Feb. 17 in JAMA Network Open.

Semi Zouiouich, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues examined the association between calcium intake and CRC risk in a cohort study analyzing data from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study involving participants aged 50 to 71 years at baseline (October 1995 to May 1996) with self-reported good health and neither extremely high nor low caloric or calcium intake.

The researchers identified 10,618 first primary CRC cases during 7,339,055 person-years of follow-up among 471,396 participants who were cancer-free at baseline. Mean total calcium intake for the lowest quintile (Q1) was 401 mg/d for women and 407 mg/d for men; mean total intake for the highest quintile (Q5) was 2,056 mg/d for women and 1,773 mg/d for men.

A lower risk for CRC was seen in association with higher total calcium intake (Q5 versus Q1: hazard ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.65 to 0.78; P <�  0.001 for trend); results were consistent across calcium sources and tumor sites. The mean calcium intake was 382 and 1,916 mg/d for Q1 and Q5, respectively, among non-Hispanic Black participants, with no association seen for total calcium intake with CRC risk (Q5 versus Q1: HR, 0.60; 95% confidence interval, 0.32 to 1.13; P = 0.12 for trend). No evidence of effect measure difference was seen by race and ethnicity.

“While calcium intake may vary by race and ethnicity, the potential for calcium to play a role in CRC prevention appeared to be consistent across racial and ethnic groups; still, research in racial and ethnic minority populations is needed,” the authors write.

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