Compound or practice · Supplement
Strontium
A bone-density mineral where the prescription form worked but raised cardiovascular risk — the OTC citrate is a different, unproven story.
- Overall grade
- Grade C
- Last revised
- 2
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade B · 1 at grade D — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Fracture (ranelate, Rx)Evidence grade B
But CV risk
Moderatehigh
- Bone (citrate supplement)Evidence grade D
No fracture data
Unclearlow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Bone (citrate supplement) (grade D).
- Watch with Calcium: Competes with calcium absorption — separate them.
Interactions
Documented pairings with supplements and medicines. A medicine on this list is a conversation for whoever prescribes it.
CalciumMind the timing
Competes with calcium absorption — separate them.
The evidence in words
What it is
Strontium is a mineral chemically similar to calcium; the drug strontium ranelate was used for osteoporosis, while supplements use strontium citrate.
How it works
It incorporates into bone and appears to both increase formation and reduce resorption; it also inflates DXA bone-density readings (a measurement artifact).
What the evidence shows
Prescription strontium ranelate reduced fractures but was restricted over heart-attack and clot risk. The OTC citrate form lacks fracture-outcome trials, and the density gains partly reflect a scan artifact, not new bone.
Safety & interactions
Cardiovascular-risk signal (from the ranelate data); interferes with calcium absorption and DXA interpretation. Calcium — Competes with calcium absorption — separate them.
Bottom line
The effective form carried cardiovascular risk and was restricted; the supplement form is unproven and confounds bone scans. Not a first-line bone choice.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- PhosphorusAn essential mineral you almost never need to supplement — deficiency is rare, and excess (from additives) is the real modern problem.Evidence grade B
- Strontium for Bone (citrate supplement)Evidence grade D — No fracture dataEvidence grade D
- Strontium for Fracture (ranelate, Rx)Evidence grade B — But CV riskEvidence grade B
- Strontium: side effects, safety & interactionsCardiovascular-risk signal (from the ranelate data); interferes with calcium absorption and DXA interpretation.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.