Calcium linked to higher blood pressure

ROME, June 18 (UPI) -- A study of postmenopausal Italian women found those with low levels of calcium were more at risk for osteoporosis and high blood pressure, researchers said.

The study involved 825 postmenopausal women with hypertension recruited from a larger 2002 study of 9,898 postmenopausal women referred to the osteometabolic unit of the Gaetano Pini Institute in Italy.

Lead author Maria Manara of the Gaetano Pini Institute in Milan, Italy, said 35 percent of the women who consumed smaller amounts of calcium from dairy sources, were diagnosed for both hypertension and osteoporosis, compared with 19 percent of women who consumed more calcium.

In addition, the study found women who had lower levels of calcium had an increased risk of developing hypertension or osteoporosis over time when compared with controls.

"Our study confirms that there may be a link between hypertension and low bone mass and that a low calcium intake could be a risk factor for the development of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women" Manara said in a statement.

The findings were presented at the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy.