Association between calcium intake and prostate neoplasm; a systematic review and meta-analysis

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death, and the present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of calcium use on the risk of prostate cancer.

The current systematic review and meta-analysis used the PRISMA checklist. The search was conducted using databases, including Web of Science, Cochrane, ProQuest, PubMed, and Google Scholar Search Engine, without a time limit until November 22, 2023. The obtained data was analyzed using STATA 14 software.

The results obtained from combining 28 observational studies and clinical trials indicated that calcium increased the risk of prostate cancer (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.13). On the other hand, cohort (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.13), cross-control (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.14), cross-sectional (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.86, 1.29), and randomized controlled trial (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.39) studies indicated a relationship between calcium use and risk of prostate malignancy. Furthermore, calcium increased the risk of prostate cancer in the age group 50 to 59 years (OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.24), however no considerable association was noticed between calcium administration and prostate cancer in the age group 60 to 69 years (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.94, 1.13). The risk of prostate cancer in individuals who used less than 1300 mg calcium per day, those who used 1300 – 2000 mg/d, and those who taken more than 2000 mg calcium per day were (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1, 1.09), (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.26), and (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.48), respectively.

Generally, calcium administration increases the risk of prostate cancer in men by 10%, and the risk is enhanced with the increase in dosage of calcium.