Vitamin B12 Status of Various Ethnic Groups Living in New Zealand: an Analysis of the Adult Nutrition Survey 2008/2009

Date
2018-02-07
Authors
Devi, A
Rush, E
Harper, M
Venn, B
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract

Vitamin B12 deficiency leads to serious health problems, whilst sub-optimal status is associated with raised biochemical markers of disease risk. Identifying at-risk groups could benefit both individuals and public health. Dietary data were sourced from the New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey 2008/2009, involving a nationally representative sample of 4721 participants. Ethnic groupings were by regional origin: Māori and Pacific Islands, New Zealand European, East and South-East Asian, and South Asian. Diets were assessed using 24-h recalls and from responses to a questionnaire. Blood samples were obtained from a subset (n = 3348). The mean (95% CI) vitamin B12 intake of the Māori and Pacific Islands group was 5.1 (4.7, 5.5) µg/day, New Zealand Europeans 4.1 (3.8, 4.3) µg/day, East and South-East Asians 4.5 (3.7, 5.3) µg/day, and South Asians 3.0 (2.5, 3.6) µg/day. Overall, 20.1% of the sample had vitamin B12 inadequacy (<221 pmol/L). South Asians had the lowest vitamin B12 concentration at 282 (251, 312) pmol/L, whilst Māori/Pacific and East/South-East Asians had the highest, at 426 (386, 466) and 425 (412, 437) pmol/L, respectively. The main dietary determinant of serum vitamin B12 concentration was whether or not people ate red meat, with a regression coefficient of 27.0 (95% CI: 6.6, 47.5). It would be helpful for health agencies to be aware of the potential for compromised vitamin B12 status in South Asian communities.

Description
Keywords
Vitamin B12; National survey; Dietary intake; Ethnicity
Source
Nutrients, 10(2), 181. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu10020181
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).