J Acad Nutr Diet. 2021 Oct 20:S2212-2672(21)01426-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2021.10.019. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Nearly a third of young US children take multivitamin/mineral (MVM) dietary supplements, yet it is unclear how formulations compare to requirements.
OBJECTIVE: Describe the number and amounts of micronutrients contained in MVM for young children and compare suggested amounts on product labels to micronutrient requirements.
DESIGN: Cross sectional.
SETTING: All 288 MVM on the market in the US in NIH’s Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD) in 2018 labeled for children 1-<4 years old.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of MVM products and amounts/day of micronutrients in each product suggested on labels compared with requirements represented by age-appropriate Daily Values (DV). Micronutrients of public health concern identified by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 (DGA 2015) and DGA 2020-2025 (DGA 2020) or those of concern for exceeding the upper tolerable intake levels (UL). Statistical Analyses Number of products and %DV per day provided by each micronutrient in each product.
RESULTS: The 288 MVM contained a mean of 10.1±2.27 vitamins and 4.59± 2.27 minerals. The most common were, in rank order, vitamins C, A, D, E, B-6, B-12, zinc, biotin, pantothenic acid, iodine, and folic acid. For micronutrients denoted by the DGA 2015 and DGA 2020 of public health concern, 56% of the 281 products containing vitamin D, 4% of the 144 with calcium and none of the 60 containing potassium provided at least half of the DV. The UL was exceeded by 49% of 197 products with folic acid, 17% of 283 with vitamin A, and 14% of 264 with zinc. Most MVM contained many of 16 other vitamins and minerals identified in national surveys as already abundant in children’s diets.
CONCLUSIONS: A reexamination of the amounts and types of micronutrients in MVMs may be suggested in order to consider formulations that better fill critical gaps in intakes and avoid excess.
PMID:34687947 | DOI:10.1016/j.jand.2021.10.019
