Global Study Reveals Widespread Micronutrient Deficiencies
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Sept. 3, 2024 -- More than 5 billion people globally do not consume enough iodine, vitamin E, and calcium, according to a study published online Aug. 29 in The Lancet Global Health.
Simone Passarelli, Ph.D., from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues estimated micronutrient intake using a novel approach accounting for the shape of a population's nutrient intake distribution, based on dietary intake data from 31 countries. These distributions were applied to data for 185 countries for 34 age-sex groups to estimate the prevalence of nutrient intakes for 99.3 percent of the global population.
The researchers found that more than 5 billion people do not consume enough iodine, vitamin E, and calcium (68, 67, and 66 percent of the global population, respectively). More than 4 billion people do not consume enough iron, riboflavin, folate, and vitamin C (65, 55, 54, and 53 percent, respectively). Within the same country and age groups, estimated inadequate intakes were higher for women with regards to iodine, vitamin B12, iron, and selenium, and for men with regards to magnesium, vitamin B6, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin A, thiamin, and niacin.
"We hope this analysis sheds light on crucial nutrition challenges for locations without the necessary means to collect primary data, and improves understanding of global micronutrient inadequacy so that public health interventions can more effectively address deficiencies," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted September 2024
Read this next
USPSTF Continues to Recommend Syphilis Screening Early in Pregnancy
TUESDAY, May 13, 2025 -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening for syphilis during pregnancy. This recommendation forms the basis of a final...
Weight Gain, Late First Pregnancy Combo Increases Breast Cancer Risk
MONDAY, May 12, 2025 -- Weight gain combined with late first pregnancy (FP) or nulliparity is associated with an increased risk for breast cancer (BC), according to a study...
Pregnancy Checkbox on Death Certificates Tied to Increase in Reported Rates of Maternal Mortality
WEDNESDAY, May 7, 2025 -- Maternal deaths increased between 2000 and 2019, with much of the increase attributable to introduction of the pregnancy checkbox on death certificates...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.