Dietary supplements contribute substantially to the total nutrient intake in pregnant Norwegian women.
BACKGROUND
Use of dietary supplements during pregnancy may give an important contribution to nutrient intake, and for nutrients like folate and vitamin D supplements are recommended. Our objective was to study use and contribution of dietary supplement to nutrient intake among women participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).


METHODS
This study is based on 40,108 women participating in MoBa which is conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The women had filled inversion 2 of the food frequency questionnaire in MoBa between February 2002 and February 2005.


RESULTS
81% reported use of one or more dietary supplements. The most commonly used category was cod liver oil/fish oil supplements (59%) followed by singular folic acid supplements (36%) and multivitamin/multimineral supplements (31%). The nutrient contribution of the dietary supplements varied from 65% for folate and vitamin D to 1% for potassium among supplement users. The dietary intake of vitamin D, folate, iodine and iron did not reach the Nordic Recommendations for pregnant women.


CONCLUSIONS
Use of supplements improved the intake of folate, iron and vitamin D, but not sufficiently to reach the recommended amounts.
Haugen
Margaretha
M
Department of Food Safety and Nutrition, Division of Environmental Medicine, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. margaretha.haugen@fhi.no
Brantsaeter
Anne Lise
AL
Alexander
Jan
J
Meltzer
Helle Margrete
HM
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004034:Diet Surveys; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009664:Norway; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012650:Self Disclosure; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014815:Vitamins
D005395:Fish Oils; D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D; D005492:Folic Acid