TITLE:
Calcium Affects on Vascular Endpoints (CAVE) Retrospective Cohort Trial
AUTHORS:
Rajib K. Bhattacharya, Vaishali B. Patel, James L. Vacek
KEYWORDS:
Calcium Supplements; Heart Attacks; Coronary Artery Disease; Cardiovascular Risk Factors
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases,
Vol.3 No.1,
February
26,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Purpose The goal of this study was to examine the association of calcium supplements with coronary artery disease and survival. Our initial hypothesis was that when adjusted for risk factors, calcium supplements would not affect overall survival outcomes or coronary artery disease prevalence in a community population followed by a large cardiovascular practice. Methods Data was retrospectively collected for 5 years and 8 months (1/1/2004to 10/8/2009) from the electronic medical record at a large cardiovascular practice at a university. Only patients ≥ age 50 were included in our analysis Results The baseline characteristics of the 8060 study subjects. For the entire study population the mean age was 65 +/– 10 years, 71% were women. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, calcium supplementation was not an independent predictor of all-cause death, nor was calcium supplementation an independent predictor of the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Survival analysis showed no survival differences for patients on calcium supplements (p = NS). Hazard ratios using the Cox proportional hazards model were calculated, showing that calcium supplementation was not an independent predictor of reduced survival. Conclusion This study suggests that there was no association between calcium supplementation and coronary artery disease as well as overall survival in a large retrospective cohort of patients greater than 50 with high rates of significant cardiovascular risk factors.