Are the Recommended Dietary Allowances for Vitamins Appropriate for Elderly People?

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• 作者：Francesco Bolzetta ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Nicola Veronese ; MD ; ^{ilmannato@gmail.com" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author}Author Vitae ; Marina De Rui ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Linda Berton ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Elena Debora Toffanello ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Sara Carraro ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Fabrizia Miotto ; RD^&lowast ; Author Vitae ; Eminè ; Meral Inelmen ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Lorenzo Maria Donini ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Enzo Manzato ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Alessandra Coin ; MDAuthor Vitae ; Egle Perissinotto ; ScDAuthor Vitae ; Giuseppe Sergi ; PhD ; MDAuthor Vitae
• 关键词：Vitamins ; Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) ; Micronutrient ; Older people
• 刊名：Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
• 出版年：2015
• 出版时间：November 2015
• 年：2015
• 卷：115
• 期：11
• 页码：1789-1797
• 全文大小：533 K

文摘

An adequate vitamin intake is essential for a good nutritional status, especially in older women, who are more sensitive to nutritional deficiencies. The American, European and Italian Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) derive mainly from studies on adults, and it is not clear whether they also apply to elderly people. Comparing the RDAs with the actual vitamin intake of a group of healthy older women could help to clarify the real needs of elderly people.

Objective

Our aim was to compare the American, European, and Italian RDAs with the actual vitamin intake of a group of healthy older women.

Design

This was a cross-sectional study.

Participants

The study included 286 healthy women aged older than 65 years.

Main outcome measures

For each micronutrient, the 50th percentile of the distribution of its intake was considered as the average requirement, and the corresponding calculated RDA for our sample was the average requirement×1.2, as recommended by the US Food and Nutrition Board. This calculated RDA was then compared with the American, European, and Italian RDAs.

Statistical analyses performed

Student’s t test or the Mann-Whitney test (after checking the normal distribution of the micronutrient) for continuous variables; the 蠂² test for categorical variables.

Results

The calculated RDA were 2,230 渭g retinol equivalents for vitamin A, 2.8 渭g for vitamin B-12, 0.9 mg for thiamin, 1.4 mg for riboflavin, 3.6 mg for pantothenic acid, 1.4 mg for vitamin B-6, 320 渭g for folic acid, and 115 mg for vitamin C.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the current RDAs are adequate for older women’s intake of riboflavin, vitamin B-6, and folic acid, but should be raised for vitamin B-12 and for vitamin C.