Abstract

LUCAS, Raquel; COSTA, Lúcia  and  BARROS, Henrique. Calcium and vitamin D Ddetary intakes in a urban sample of portuguese women. Arq Med [online]. 2005, vol.19, n.1-2, pp.07-14. ISSN 2183-2447.

Introduction: Dietary intakes and supplementation with calcium and vitamin D have been evaluated as determinants in risk reduction for a number of common chronic diseases in developed societies. Knowledge of exposures to these nutrients in populations can work as a basis for the establishment of preventive strategies. In this study, we present the values for dietary intakes of calcium and vitamin D in women living in Porto, Portugal, and evaluate their adequacy according to the present European recommendations. Methods: We selected a representative sample of the adult population of Porto using random digit dialling. Information on diet was provided by 1456 women, by means of a previously validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and results were compared with dietary reference intakes in the European Union. Results: The median for calcium intake ranged from 838 to 977 mg/day and the median for vitamin D intake between 2.99 and 3.73 µg/day. Regarding calcium, the minimum proportion of inadequacy was 41.0% in women under 30 years-old, and the maximum was 58.1% in women aged 70 and over. Inadequacy in vitamin D intake ranged from 70.5%, in women under 30, to 96.0% in women aged between 60 and 69. There was a trend for the increase in vitamin D intake inadequacy with age (p for trend < 0.001). Conclusions: A large proportion of females in Porto presented calcium and particularly vitamin D intakes below recommendations, as has been observed for other populations. Increased dietary intakes or supplementation may represent important strategies in Portugal, regarding the prevention of relevant conditions in our society.

Keywords : Calcium intake; Vitamin D intake; Food frequency; Inadequacy.

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