More rapid radiographic healing for children with 1,000 and 2,000 mg compared with 500 mg/day
MONDAY, June 27, 2016 (HealthDay News) — For children with rickets, radiographic healing is more rapid with 1,000 mg and 2,000 mg daily calcium intake compared with 500 mg, according to a study published online June 17 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
Tom D. Thacher, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues examined the optimal dose of calcium for treatment of rickets in children. A cohort of 65 Nigerian children with radiographically-confirmed rickets were randomized to daily supplemental calcium intake of 500 mg, 1,000 mg, or 2,000 mg (21, 23, and 21 children, respectively).
The researchers observed improvement in the radiographic severity scores in all three groups, with significantly more rapid rates of healing in the 1,000 and 2,000 mg supplementation groups versus the 500 mg group. There was no difference in the rate of healing between the 1,000 and 2,000 mg groups. A radiographic score of 1.5 or less was achieved by 67, 87, and 67 percent of participants in the 2,000, 1,000, and 500 mg groups, respectively, after 24 weeks (P = 0.21). Similar decreases were seen in all groups in serum alkaline phosphatase and calcium.
“Daily calcium intakes of 1,000 mg or 2,000 mg produced more rapid radiographic healing of rickets than 500 mg, but 2,000 mg did not have greater benefit than 1,000 mg,” the authors write.
One author disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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