title: Dietary supplements contribute substantially to the total nutrient intake in pregnant Norwegian women.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Safety and Nutrition, Division of Environmental Medicine, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. margaretha.haugen@fhi.no
authors.forename: Margaretha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haugen
authors.forename: Anne Lise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Brantsaeter
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Helle Margrete
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Meltzer
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D005395:Fish Oils; D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D; D005492:Folic Acid