Calcium and vitamin D supplements: effects on calcium metabolism in elderly people.

Calcium and vitamin D status were studied in 193 healthy elderly French people. Calcium intake was less than 500 mg/d in 62% of the patients and the vitamin D intake was less than 5 micrograms/d in all patients. They also exhibited reduced levels of serum calcium (SCa) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) and high levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and alkaline phosphatase (SAP). The response to calcium (1000 mg/d) and ergocalciferol (20 micrograms/d) supplementation given for 6 mo was evaluated in 65 patients with 69 subjects taken as controls. The treatment induced a significant increase in SCa and in 25-OHD levels, and a subsequent decrease in PTH levels without modification of the mean calcitriol levels. The biochemical changes were more marked in long-stay hospital patients than in outpatients. All these changes were significantly different from those observed in the control group. Increasing the calcium and vitamin D intake reduces the biochemical signs of secondary hyperparathyroidism in elderly people.