Head Institute of Public Health Skopje, Skopje, Macedonia
Objectives: Health risks for most prevalent non-communicable diseases in Macedonia are largely related to nutrition. Those may be prevented with balanced nutrition during childhood. Available data shows that there are few micronutrients which are consumed by children in Macedonia in lower quantities than recommended. The objective of this study was to assess vitamin D intake among children in Macedonia.
Methods: Data on the consumed foods was collected for 1079 children aged 1-9 through 2 non-consecutive prospective food diaries, at least 10 days apart. Diaries with reported consumption higher 25mcg/day were excluded from analyzed data sample, so total number of analyzed diaries was 2101. Food items consumed were coded according to the FoodEx2 classification. Diet Assess & Plan (DAP) software was used for dietary intake data collection and assessment.
Results: Average intake of Vitamin D was 2.67 mcg/day (95% CI 2.55-2.79). Intake among boys was 2,62 mcg/day (95% CI 2.47-2.77) insignificantly lower than the average (p=0.3). Intake among girls was 2.72 mcg/day (95% CI 2.54-2.9), insignificantly higher than the average (p=0.32). There was no statistically significant difference among the intake between boys and girls (p=0.39).
Conclusions: Vitamin D intake through foods among children in Macedonia is lower than recommended and it is evenly distributed between boys and girls. Given the importance of this micronutrient, food fortifying schemes on national level should be considered as public health intervention.
Funding Sources: This study was funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
