01.05.09
Indication: Stroke
Source: Stroke, September 2008;39(9):2449-56.
Research: While many risk factors have been identified that increase a person's risk for stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure) is by far the greatest. In fact, hypertension has been identified as a factor in 70% of all strokes. It has been thought that a high intake of dietary calcium could decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, although no prospective studies have been conducted to determine if such an association actually exists. This study included 41,562 Japanese men and women between the ages of 40 and 59 years, without a history of cardiovascular disease or cancer. The subjects completed a food consumption frequency questionnaire and were followed from 1990 to 2003.
Results: During this period, a total of 1321 incident cases of stroke and 322 cases of coronary heart disease were documented. The results revealed that total calcium intake had an inverse relationship with the risk of total stroke. No significant association was found between calcium intake and the risk of coronary heart disease. Therefore, dietary calcium intake, especially from dairy sources, does appear to reduce the incidence of stroke among middle-aged men and women.