Increased calcium intake was associated with decreased risk of ischaemic heart disease mortality in postmenopausal women
Question Is intake of calcium, vitamin D, or milk products associated with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in postmenopausal women?
Design
Prospective cohort study of women in the Iowa Women's Health Study with 8 years of follow up.
Setting
Iowa, USA.
Participants
34 486 women who were 55-69 years of age. Women were excluded if they had IHD at baseline, were premenopausal, did not complete ≥30 items on the food frequency questionnaire, or had implausibly high or low daily energy intake scores.
Assessment of risk factors
Women completed postal questionnaires on known and suspected risk factors for cardiovascular disease in 1986. A 127 item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire measured usual food intake and vitamin and mineral supplement use. For analysis, women were divided into quartiles …
