Nutrients 2017, 9(8), 849; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080849
Impact of Frequency of Multi-Vitamin/Multi-Mineral Supplement Intake on Nutritional Adequacy and Nutrient Deficiencies in U.S. Adults
1
Antioxidants Research Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging and Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
2
Linus Pauling Institute and Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
3
Nutrition Impact, LLC, Battle Creek, MI 49014, USA
4
Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
5
Nutrition Research Institute, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 19 June 2017 / Revised: 26 July 2017 / Accepted: 7 August 2017 / Published: 9 August 2017
Abstract
Although >50% of U.S. adults use dietary supplements, little information is available on the impact of supplement use frequency on nutrient intakes and deficiencies. Based on nationally representative data in 10,698 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2009 to 2012, assessments were made of intakes from food alone versus food plus multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplements (MVMS) of 17 nutrients with an Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) and a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL), and of the status of five nutrients with recognized biomarkers of deficiency. Compared to food alone, MVMS use at any frequency was associated with a lower prevalence of inadequacy (p < 0.01) for 15/17 nutrients examined and an increased prevalence of intakes >UL for 7 nutrients, but the latter was ≤4% for any nutrient. Except for calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D, most frequent MVMS use (≥21 days/30 days) virtually eliminated inadequacies of the nutrients examined, and was associated with significantly lower odds ratios of deficiency for the examined nutrient biomarkers except for iron. In conclusion, among U.S. adults, MVMS use is associated with decreased micronutrient inadequacies, intakes slightly exceeding the UL for a few nutrients, and a lower risk of nutrient deficiencies. View Full-TextKeywords:
dietary supplements; nutritional supplements; multi-vitamin/multi-mineral; NHANES; vitamins; micronutrient; nutritional adequacy; nutrient deficiencies
▼
Figures
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).

Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Blumberg, J.B.; Frei, B.B.; Fulgoni, V.L., III; Weaver, C.M.; Zeisel, S.H. Impact of Frequency of Multi-Vitamin/Multi-Mineral Supplement Intake on Nutritional Adequacy and Nutrient Deficiencies in U.S. Adults. Nutrients 2017, 9, 849.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Nutrients
EISSN 2072-6643
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert