Serum calcium is associated with dyslipidemia in Korean adults: a cross-sectional study

Objective: The relationship between calcium intake and risk of cardiovascular disease is still debated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of calcium intake and serum calcium with dyslipidemia in Korean adults. Methods: This was a population-based, cross-sectional study of 640 subjects (320 men and 320 women) aged 20-69 years (average 43.7 years) recruited from eight provinces of South Korea in 2014. Daily calcium intake, serum calcium, and serum lipid profiles of the subjects were analyzed and their correlation was evaluated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was also conducted to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for prevalence of dyslipidemia by serum calcium. Results: Calcium intake was not significantly correlated with serum lipids or calcium. However, serum calcium was positively correlated with serum total cholesterol (p < 0.001) and triglycerides (p < 0.001). The unadjusted prevalence of hypercholesterolemia according to serum calcium tertiles was significantly increased with increments of serum calcium (4.7%, 6.1%, and 12.6% in the T1 - T3 groups; p < 0.005). The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for having hypercholesterolemia was also significantly increased according to serum calcium tertiles (first tertile reference, third tertile OR = 2.93, 95% CI = 1.38-6.22, p for trend < 0.001). The association of serum calcium with the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was not changed after adjusting for gender, body weight, age, and body mass index. Conclusion: No significant association was found between calcium intake and se-rum lipid profiles; however, elevated serum calcium within the normal range was shown to be associated with an increased prevalence of dyslipidemia in a Korean cohort.