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- Title
Research and practice. Population-level changes in folate intake by age, gender, and race/ethnicity after folic acid fortification.
- Authors
Bentley TGK; Willett WC; Weinstein MC; Kuntz KM
- Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We sought to quantify the impact of the 1998 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) folic acid fortification policy by estimating folate intake at the population level. METHODS: We analyzed total folate intake levels (from food and supplements) according to gender, age, and race/ethnicity, using data from 2 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. We measured pre- and postfortification folate intake distributions, adjusted for measurement error, and examined proportions of the population who reached certain thresholds of daily total folate intake. RESULTS: Mean daily food and total folate intake increased by approximately 100 microg/day after fortification. The proportion of women aged 15-44 years who consume more than 400 microg/day of folate has increased since fortification, but has not yet reached the FDA's 50% target and varies by race/ethnicity from 23% to 33%. Among persons aged 65 years and older who may be at risk for masking a vita-microg/day (the min B12 deficiency, the percentage who consume more than 1000 'tolerable upper intake level') has at least doubled among Whites and Black men, but has remained less than 5% for all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Since fortification, folic acid intake among the US population has increased, and there are substantial variations by age, gender, and race/ethnicity.
- Publication
American Journal of Public Health, 2006, Vol 96, Issue 11, p2040
- ISSN
0090-0036
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.2105/AJPH.2005.067371