Oura P, et al. – Researchers assessed the association of dairy and supplement-based calcium intake in adulthood with vertebral size in midlife. Study participants included 1,064 individuals from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 who had undergone lumbar MRI at 46 years of age, and had provided self-reported data on diet and calcium intake at ages 31 and 46. After adjusting for body mass index, diet, vitamin D intake, education, leisure-time physical activity, and smoking, the investigators used a generalized estimating equation and linear regression models to evaluate the link between calcium intake and vertebral cross-sectional area (CSA). They found that women with insufficient calcium intake over the follow-up period had 3.8% smaller midlife vertebral CSA vs women with sufficient calcium intake. Overall, inadequate calcium consumption from ages 31-46 predicted small vertebral size and consequential decreased spine resilience among middle-aged women.