Inadequate vitamin D intake among pregnant women in Malaysia based on revised recommended nutrient intakes value and potential dietary strategies to tackle the inadequacy
Lee, S.S.; Subramaniam, R.; Tusimin, M.; Ling, K.H.; Rahim, K.F.; Loh, S.P.
Nutrition Research and Practice 15(4): 492-503
2021
ISSN/ISBN: 1976-1457 PMID: 34349882 Accession: 071955297
Recently, the recommended nutrient intakes (RNI) for vitamin D for Malaysian aged 1-70 yrs has been revised from 5 µg/day to 15 µg/day. This study is aimed to assess the adequacy of vitamin D intake based on revised RNI and to recommend several dietary strategies to increase total vitamin D intake. Vitamin D intake from both food and supplement of 217 pregnant women was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Hypothetical effect of expanded supplementation and food fortifications strategies were modelled using the consumption data. The results revealed that more than half (67.7%) of pregnant women had inadequate vitamin D intake (RNI < 15 µg/day). The modelling results demonstrated the potential of universal provision of 10 µg/day of multivitamins supplements in increasing vitamin D intake. Moreover, mandatory fortification of both milk and malted drink at single level of 5 µg/serving would lead to increase in vitamin D intake of Malaysians, particularly pregnant women. The outcome of this study can be used as a reference for public health professionals to re-evaluate the existing Malaysian food fortification policies and supplementation recommendation for vitamin D for pregnant women.