Long-term effect of calcium-vitamin D3 fortified milk on blood pressure and serum lipid concentrations in healthy older men

Background/Objectives: Some epidemiological and clinical studies have shown that increased dairy consumption or calcium and/or vitamin D supplementation can have a beneficial effect on blood pressure, and lipid and lipoprotein concentrations. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effects of calcium-vitamin D-3 fortified milk on blood pressure and lipid-lipoprotein concentrations in community-dwelling older men. Subjects/Methods: This is a substudy of a 2-year randomized controlled trial in which 167 men aged >50 years were assigned to receive either 400 ml per day of reduced fat (similar to 1%) milk fortified with approximately 1000mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D3 or to a control group receiving no additional fortified milk. Weight, blood pressure, lipid and lipoprotein concentrations were measured every 6 months. Participants on lipid-lowering (n=32) or antihypertensive medication (n=39) were included, but those who commenced, increased or decreased their medication throughout the intervention were excluded (n=27). Results: In the 140 men included in this study (milk, n=73; control, n=67), there were no significant effects of the calcium-vitamin D-3 fortified milk on weight, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglyceride concentrations at any time throughout the intervention. Similar results were observed after excluding men taking antihypertensive or lipid-lowering medication or limiting the analysis to those with baseline calcium intakes <1000mg per day and/or with hypovitaminosis D (25(OH) D <75 nmol/l). Conclusions: Supplementation with reduced-fat calcium-vitamin D-3 fortified milk did not have a beneficial (nor detrimental) effect on blood pressure, lipid or lipoprotein concentrations in healthy community-dwelling older men. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, 993-1000; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2008.79; published online 21 January 2009