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Many
middle-aged and older Americans not getting
adequate nutrition
March 1, 2009, St. Louis, MO –
Micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium,
potassium and vitamin C play essential roles
in maintaining health.
As older adults tend to reduce their food
intake as they age, there is concern that
deficits in these micronutrients lead to
medical problems.
In a study published in the March 2009 issue
of the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association, researchers examined how well
different ethnic groups met the recommended
daily allowances (RDAs) through food intake
and supplement consumption.
The study determined that many middle-aged
and older Americans are not getting adequate
nutrition.
Using data drawn from the Multi-Ethnic Study
of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a prospective
cohort study designed to investigate the
prevalence, correlates and progression of
subclinical cardiovascular disease,
researchers examined over 6200 participants
from 4 ethnic groups, Caucasian, African
American, Hispanic and Chinese.
Dietary intakes were determined from food
frequency questionnaires and respondents
were asked to provide amounts and
frequencies of micronutrient consumption
using label information from their
supplements.
These data were used to calculate whether
the RDAs or Adequate Intake (AI) levels were
being met.
The large sample size and multiple ethnic
groups in this population gave investigators
enough power to examine interactions between
supplementation and ethnicity.
Over half of the population took
supplements, and supplement users were more
likely to be older, women, Caucasian and
college-educated. Calcium and vitamin C
supplements were most common.
Although dietary intake of calcium,
magnesium, potassium and vitamin C was
similar between supplement users and
non-users for both men and women, there were
differences in median dietary intake levels
between the different ethnic groups.
Chinese Americans tended to have the lowest
dietary intakes, particularly in calcium
where both Chinese and African Americans had
significantly lower dietary intakes of
calcium than Caucasians and Hispanics.
The study also evaluated differences between
multivitamins and high-dose supplements.
While high-dose calcium was associated with
meeting RDA/AIs for all ethnic groups, some
high-dose supplements could also cause users
to exceed their Tolerable Upper Intake
Levels (ULs).
For calcium, 15.0% of high-dose users
exceeded the UL compared to 1.9% of
multivitamin users and 2.1% of non-users.
For magnesium, 35.3% of high-dose supplement
users exceeded the UL compared to 0% of both
multivitamin users and non-users.
In addition, 6.6% high-dose vitamin C users
exceeded the UL compared to 0% of both
multivitamin users and non-users.
The study also found that potassium intake
was very much below the RDA whether
supplements were taken or not.
This could point to a need to reformulate
supplements to deliver higher potassium
doses.
Writing in the article, Pamela J. Schreiner,
MS, PhD, Professor and Director of Graduate
Studies, Division of Epidemiology and
Community Health, University of Minnesota,
states, "The present study indicates a clear
association between meeting RDA/AIs and
supplement use for calcium, magnesium and
vitamin C.
However, even with the assistance of dietary
supplements many middle-aged and older
Americans are not getting adequate
nutrition, and there was no association
between supplement use and meeting the AI
for potassium.
In addition, those taking high-dose vitamin
supplements were more likely to exceed the
UL for that nutrient.
Future studies should explore dietary
supplementation along with other methods to
improve nutrition in middle-aged and older
Americans."
###
The article is "Supplement use contributes
to meeting recommended dietary intakes for
calcium, magnesium and vitamin C in four
ethnicities of middle-aged and older
Americans: The Multi-Ethnic Study of
Atherosclerosis" by Andrea N.
Burnett-Hartman, MPH, Annette L.
Fitzpatrick, PhD, Kun Gao, MPH, PhD, Sharon
A. Jackson, PhD, and Pamela J. Schreiner,
MS, PhD. It appears in the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, Volume 109,
Issue 3 (March 2009) published by Elsevier.
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