Endocrine Disorder Is Most Common Cause of Elevated Calcium Levels

Unusually high calcium levels in the blood can almost always be traced to primary hyperparathyroidism, an undertreated, underreported condition that affects mainly women and the elderly, according to a new study by UCLA researchers. The condition, which results from overactive parathyroid glands and includes symptoms of bone loss, depression, and fatigue that may go undetected for years, is most often seen in African American women over the age of 50, the researchers discovered. The study, currently online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, is one of the first to examine a large, racially and ethnically diverse population—in this case, one that was 65% nonwhite. Previous studies had focused on smaller, primarily Caucasian populations. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/news/032213_news.shtml