Micronutrient Inadequacies in Dietary Intake Increase With Age in a Population-Based Study of Brazilian Adults

Objectives: To investigate the probability of micronutrient inadequacies in the Brazilian adult population, with a particular interest in differences across age subgroups. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 1812 participants aged 19-65 from the Brazilian Study of Nutrition and Health (EBANS), a population-based study with a representative sample of residents in the urban area of the five macro-regions of Brazil. We compared three age subgroups: younger adults aged 19-30, middle-aged adults aged 31-50, and older adults aged 51-65. Dietary intake was assessed by two 24-hour recalls adjusted for usual intake (Multiple Source Method). Inadequacy was calculated using the Z-standard curve of the mean micronutrient intake and the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) of each nutrient using the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) targets. Results: Older adults presented the highest probability of inadequacy for vitamins B2, B6, D, E, calcium, and magnesium compared to the other age groups, with worst inadequacies in vitamins D and E (above 99%). In this age group, vitamin D inadequacy was very similar between the sexes (above 99%). In contrast, vitamin E was more likely to be inadequately consumed among women (above 99%). Vitamin A had also a high probability of inadequacy in this age group, reaching 55.2% in men and 49.2% in women. Vitamin B1 presented relevant differences among age groups in men but not in women. While in younger males the inadequacy was 5.8%, it reached 19.8% in older males. Similarly, while the probability of inadequacy of vitamin B6 was 12.2% in younger males and 22.1% in younger females, these inadequacies reached 31.2% and 48.4% in older adults, respectively. Except for iron, the probability of inadequacy of the other minerals increased with age, with calcium and magnesium presenting the highest inadequacy rates (above 85%). Conclusions: There were relevant nutrient inadequacies among the population, with those most at risk being women and older individuals. These results may contribute to identifying subgroups in the population prone to inadequate nutrient intake, helping with better targeting and monitoring of public health policies that address nutritional problems in the population. Funding Sources: PENSI INSTITUTE, COCA COLA (DATA RECOLECTION), RECKIT BRAZIL (PUBLISHING FEES).