title: Contribution of various food groups to dietary vitamin B-6 intake in free-living, low-income elderly persons.
abstract: Elderly persons are reported to have low dietary intakes of vitamin B-6. Knowing which foods are the primary contributors of dietary vitamin B-6 may be useful to health professionals working to improve the nutritional status of the elderly. Therefore, we examined the contribution of five food groups--flesh foods (including all meat/fish/poultry), grains/cereals, legumes/nuts, fruits/vegetables, and dairy products/eggs--to dietary vitamin B-6 intake in 198 free-living elderly persons aged 60 years or older. Subjects were primarily Caucasian, low-income non-smokers; their mean age was 72 years. Mean dietary vitamin B-6 intake, determined from 3-day diet records, was 1.6 +/- 0.6 mg/day. The fruit/vegetable group was the largest dietary contributor of vitamin B-6 (0.69 mg/day). Flesh foods and cereals/grains contributed equally to the vitamin B-6 intake (0.35 and 0.34 mg/day, respectively). The lowest contributors were dairy products/eggs and legumes/nuts. Approximately 96% of the vitamin B-6 intake could be accounted for by the five food groups. Twenty percent of the population (no. = 39) consumed less than 66% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin B-6; their vitamin B-6 intake from fruits/vegetables and grains/cereals was 0.36 and 0.10 mg/day, respectively. Individuals with vitamin B-6 intakes greater than or equal to 100% of the RDA (no. = 69) consumed greater amounts of fruits/vegetables (primarily bananas) and grains/cereals (primarily breakfast cereal) than did persons who consumed less than 66% of the RDA for vitamin B-6; their vitamin B-6 intake from fruits/vegetables and grains/cereals was 0.98 and 0.55 mg/day, respectively. In the elderly population studied, plant foods were the major dietary contributors of vitamin B-6.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Resources, Arizona State University, Tempe 85287-2502.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Manore
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Vaughan
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Lehman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003611:Dairy Products; D015930:Diet Records; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004435:Eating; D002523:Edible Grain; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D011736:Pyridoxine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014675:Vegetables
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins; D011736:Pyridoxine