The efficacy and safety of nutritional supplement use in a representative sample of adults in the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey

Kiely, Máiréad; Flynn, Albert; Harrington, KE; Robson, Paula J.; O’Connor, Nick; Hannon, E. M.; O′Brien, Margaret; Bell, Simone; Strain, JJ

doi:10.1079/phn2001190

Cited by 66 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The National Diet and Nutrition Survey in British adults has found that supplement users have higher intakes of vitamins and minerals and are less likely to have intakes below the reference nutrient intake than non-supplement users (7) . Similar findings have been reported for Ireland (8) , Germany (9,10) , the USA (11) and Canada (12) . Food supplements have also been shown to make a substantial contribution to the intakes of vitamins and minerals in toddlers (13,14) and teenagers (15)(16)(17)(18) .…”

supporting

confidence: 87%

One is okay, more is better? Pharmacological aspects and safe limits of nutritional supplements

Mason¹

2007

Proc. Nutr. Soc.

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The use of vitamins, minerals and other supplements has increased considerably during recent years. In the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of British adults aged 19-64 years 40 % of those surveyed were taking supplements. In 2005 sales of dietary supplements in the UK were approximately £325 . 7 · 10 6 in 'bricks and mortar' shops (excluding health food shops). The physiological effects of vitamins and minerals in amounts approximating to the UK reference nutrient intake or the EU RDA are well understood in terms of reducing the risk of micronutrient deficiency. However, the effects of vitamins, minerals and other supplements in larger amounts have attracted much attention in recent decades, and these effects, some of which may be pharmacological, are not as well categorised. Some of these effects are beneficial, some are not. Although vitamins and minerals and other supplements are generally safe at higher doses, there are some safety issues that are relevant in the context of the wide availability of supplements without a doctor's prescription. Thus, several authorities throughout the world have established upper limits (UL) for the intake of vitamins and minerals, and the EU is in the process of setting maximum permitted levels (MPL) for vitamins and minerals in food supplements. The present paper discusses the potential benefits and safety issues relating to the use of supplements at doses higher than the RDA. The rationale for the establishment of UL is also discussed, explaining the differences between the values set by different authorities and the expected guidance and legislation from the European Commission on MPL for vitamins and minerals in food supplements.

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supporting

confidence: 87%

One is okay, more is better? Pharmacological aspects and safe limits of nutritional supplements

Mason¹

2007

Proc. Nutr. Soc.

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“…However, over 40% of the intake of pre-formed niacin is obtained from meat, meat products and fish, where it is present largely as nicotinamide 38 which does not appear to cause flushing 9 . Thus, the risk of overexposure to nicotinic acid is likely to be considerably overestimated by this analysis and probably is related solely to supplement use 39 . The 95th percentile intake of vitamin Bg was well below the UL 11 of 25 mg, and 0.2% of men and 2.0% of women had intakes that exceeded the UL.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 95th percentile intake of vitamin Bg was well below the UL 11 of 25 mg, and 0.2% of men and 2.0% of women had intakes that exceeded the UL. Of the 14 women whose intakes of vitamin B$ exceeded the UL, the median intake was 43 mg day" 1 and all were supplement users 39 . It is noted that the 95th percentile intake of folate was well below the UL for folic acid, 1000 |xg for all age groups , and that mean daily folate intakes were above the UL in 0.2% of men and 0.3% ofwomen, indicating that there is little risk of adverse effects in the population from current levels of dietary folate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey: vitamin intakes in 18–64-year-old adults

O′Brien

Kiely

Harrington

et al. 2001

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To estimate vitamin intakes and assess the contribution of different food groups to vitamin intakes in adults aged 18-64 years in Ireland as estimated in the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey. Intakes are reported for retinol, carotene, total vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, pre-formed niacin, total niacin equivalents, vitamin B$, vitamin B 12 , folate, biotin, pantothenate and vitamin C. The adequacy of vitamin intakes in the population and the risk of occurrence of excessive vitamin intakes are also assessed. Design: Food consumption was estimated using a 7-day food diary for a representative sample (n = 1379; 662 men and 717 women) of 18-64-year-old adults in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland selected randomly from the electoral register. Vitamin intakes were estimated using tables of food composition. Results: In general, the percentage of the population with vitamin intakes below the average requirement (AR) was low. Mean daily intake of total vitamin A was below the AR in 20.2% and 16.6% of men and women, respectively, and mean daily intake of riboflavin was below the AR in 12.5% and 20.6% of men and women, respectively. Mean daily folate intakes were below the AR for folate in 11.2% and 6.6% of women aged 18-35 years and 36-50 years, respectively. Only 2.2% of women aged 18-35 years and 52% of women aged 36-50 years achieved the recommended folate intake of 600 (xg day" 1 for women of reproductive age for the prevention of neural tube defects. A high proportion of the population has a low dietary vitamin D intake and is largely dependent on sunlight exposure to maintain adequate vitamin D status. Except for pre-formed niacin, the 95th percentile intake of vitamins did not exceed the tolerable upper intake level (UL) for any group and was much less than the UL for most vitamins. Although 20.8% of men and 6.3% of women exceeded the UL for pre-formed niacin (which is 35 mg, based on nicotinic-acid-induced flushing), the large contribution of meat and fish to the intake of niacin (as nicotinamide) suggests that the risk of overexposure to nicotinic acid is much lower than this and is probably solely related to supplement use. A small proportion of men (4.0%) and women (1.2%) aged 51-64 years had retinol intakes that exceeded the UL (3000 |xg) and while the 95th percentile intake of women in the 18-50 year age group was well below the UL, 1.5% of 18-35-year-old and 2.4% of 36-50-year-old women had mean daily retinol intakes above the UL. About 2.0% of women had intakes of vitamin B6 that exceeded the UL (25 mg). There were significant differences by age and sex in nutrient densities of vitamin intakes between men and women and between age groups, which may be explained by differences in consumption of particular food groups as well as different patterns of supplement use. Conclusion: Nutritional adequacy of the population for most vitamins was good. Folate intake in women of childbearing age is not meeting current recommendations for the prevention o...

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“…Other surveys carried out in Europe (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13) have used different tools to assess food supplement use, such as mailed questionnaires and telephone or face-to-face interviews. Some studies focused specifically on the use of food supplements while others were wider-ranging surveys that also included questions regarding the use of food supplements, often within FFQ or food diaries or other methodologies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The four EU Member States with the largest markets in terms of sales of 'other substances' are Italy in first place, closely followed by Germany, the UK and France (2,3) . Various surveys on the use of food supplements and/or functional foods have been carried out in European countries, in which information about the demographic, physical, lifestyle and health characteristics of food supplement users have also been collected (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13) . In most cases the variables found to be related to supplement use were age, gender, education, income and lifestyle variables such as drinking, smoking and exercising (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10) .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of food supplements and determinants of usage in a sample Italian adult population

Giammarioli

Boniglia

Carratù

et al. 2012

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: The aims were to collect data on consumption of different food supplements in a sample of the adult Italian population and to characterize users by demographic, physical and health-related characteristics, lifestyle and behaviour. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: The study was conducted in 2008 in ten towns of Italy (two towns from each of the five macro-areas: Northwest, Northeast, Centre, South and Islands). Subjects: Adults (n 10 000) aged $18 years were randomly selected and asked to fill in a self-administered questionnaire regarding their use of food supplements and the above variables. The effect of these variables on food supplement use was evaluated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: Of the 1723 individuals who returned the questionnaire, 49 % were users of food supplements. A large proportion (54 %) of users used more than one category of food supplement: vitamin and/or mineral supplements were the most used (61 %), followed by supplements with botanicals and botanical extracts (28 %). The results obtained by logistic regression showed that gender, town size, education level, sports practice, regular use of wholemeal cereal-based foods and presence of a low stress level were determinants for the use of food supplements in the examined population. However, these determinants were not shared by all categories of supplements. Conclusions:The results of this preliminary study highlight that associations between demographic, dietary and lifestyle factors and use of different categories of food supplements differ according to products, and cannot be accounted for simply by dichotomizing individuals as users or non-users.

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The efficacy and safety of nutritional supplement use in a representative sample of adults in the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey

Cited by 66 publications

References 12 publications

One is okay, more is better? Pharmacological aspects and safe limits of nutritional supplements

One is okay, more is better? Pharmacological aspects and safe limits of nutritional supplements

The North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey: vitamin intakes in 18–64-year-old adults

Use of food supplements and determinants of usage in a sample Italian adult population

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