Potassium citrate supplementation results in sustained improvement in calcium balance in older men and women

Study answer

What this study found

Potassium citrate improved calcium balance by neutralizing dietary acid load, reducing urinary calcium excretion, and lowering bone resorption markers, with the clearest benefit at 90 mmol/d. Net acid excretion fell significantly versus placebo in both arms, from 22.9 to -11.3 mmol/d at 60 mmol/d and from 17.0 to -29.5 mmol/d at 90 mmol/d, with p<0.001 for both. Net calcium balance at 6 months was 142 mg/d in the 90 mmol/d group versus -80 mg/d with placebo (p=0.02), while the 60 mmol/d group was not significant (p=0.18). Urine calcium decreased versus placebo in both active groups (p<0.01),…

Study & population

This was a human interventional study in healthy men and women over 55 years from the San Francisco Bay Area, with mean ages in the mid-60s and self-selected diets.

Intervention

Older adults received oral potassium citrate for 6 months in two active regimens: 60 mmol/d with dose escalation over 9 weeks to nine tablets daily, of which three tablets were placebo, and 90 mmol/d with dose escalation over 9 weeks to nine active tablets daily.

Key limitation

The trial was small, with only 17 participants per active arm, and lasted only 6 months.

View full study detailsView sourceOpen PDF

Original abstract