HEALTH NEWS
Premenopausal women who get a lot of vitamin D and calcium may cut their risk of breast cancer by almost one-third, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Researchers at the Harvard Medical School concluded: "Findings from this study suggest that higher intakes of calcium and vitamin D may be associated with a lower risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer. The likely apparent protection in premenopausal women may be more pronounced for more aggressive breast tumors."In the study, researchers collected data on more than 10,578 premenopausal women and 20,909 postmenopausal women age 45 and older who were part of the Women's Health Study. The data included information on what they ate and the dietary supplements they took. Over an average of 10 years, 276 premenopausal women and 743 postmenopausal women went on to develop breast cancer.
Researchers found that premenopausal women whose intake of vitamin D and calcium was high had about a 30% lower risk of developing breast cancer. However, they didn’t find this association for postmenopausal women.
"Calcium and vitamin D may confer protection against breast tumorigenesis," lead researcher Jennifer Lin, Ph.D. said. "However, more studies are necessary to investigate the potential utility of these two nutrients in breast cancer development," she added.
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine 167(10):1050-1059, 2007
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