Dietary adequacy of vitamin D and calcium among Inuit and Inuvialuit women of child-bearing age in Arctic Canada: a growing concern

• Published in: PLoS ONE
• Main Authors: Kolahdooz, Fariba, Barr, Alison, Roache, Cindy, Sheehy, Tony, Corriveau, Andre, Sharma, Sangita
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science 2013
• Subjects: D deficiency; Lifestyle; Nutrition transition; Rapid transition; Food insecurity; Population; Health; Risk; Disease; Determinants; Arctic; Nunavut; Northwest Territories; Canada; inuit; Inuvialuit
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10468/2360; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078987

Background: Arctic populations are at an increased risk of vitamin D inadequacy due to geographic latitude and a nutrition transition. This study aimed to assess the adequacy of dietary vitamin D and calcium among women of child-bearing age in Arctic Canada. Methods: This study collected data from 203 randomly selected women of child-bearing age (19-44 years) in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Arctic Canada. Cross-sectional surveys using a validated quantitative food frequency questionnaire were analysed to determine the dietary adequacy of vitamin D and calcium and summarize the top foods contributing to vitamin D and calcium intake among traditional food eaters (TFE) and non-traditional food eaters (NTFE). Results: The response rate was between 69-93% depending on the community sampled. Mean BMIs for both TFE and NTFE were above the normal range. Traditional food eaters had a significantly higher median vitamin D intake compared with non-traditional eaters (TFE = 5.13±5.34 µg/day; NTFE = 3.5±3.22 µg/day, p = 0·004). The majority of women (87%) were below the Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) for vitamin D. Despite adequate median daily calcium intake in both TFE (1299 ± 798 mg/day) and NTFE (992 ± 704 mg/day; p = 0.0005), 27% of the study population fell below the EAR for calcium. Dairy products contributed the most to intake of vitamin D (TFE = 30.7%; NTFE = 39.1%) and calcium (TFE = 25.5%; NTFE = 34.5%). Conclusions: Inadequate dietary vitamin D intake is evident among Inuit and Inuvialuit women of child-bearing age in Arctic Canada. Promotion of nutrient-rich sources of traditional foods, supplementation protocols and/or expanded food fortification should be considered to address this nutrition concern.