Health
Vitamin K fails to slow bone loss
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 3, 2008
Postmenopausal women with osteopenia who take vitamin K for four years have similar bone densities to those who do not, although this supplement still may provide some protection against fractures, according to a study published in the October PloS Medicine.
Researchers at the University of Toronto randomized 440 women to receive either 5 mg of vitamin K or a placebo.
The supplement increased markers of bone formation but did not affect bone density or resorption. Fewer women taking vitamin K had bone breaks or developed cancer, but the study was not sufficiently powered to prove that this substance was responsible.
"More studies are needed to further examine the effect of vitamin K on fractures and cancers," wrote the authors.
Over the four-year study period,20 fractures and 12 cancers were noted in the placebo group. Of those who took this vitamin daily, nine experienced fractures and three were diagnosed with cancer.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/11/03/hlbf1103.htm.
