DIETARY AND NONDIETARY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH IRON STATUS IN A COHORT OF DANISH ADULTS FOLLOWED FOR 6 YEARS

Objective: To examine the association between food intake and serum fe rritin over time. Design: Two hundred and thirty-eight individuals, at baseline aged 35, 45, 55 and 65 y, had their food intake assessed by a short food frequency questionnaire and a diet history interview, and serum ferritin measured, first in 1987/88, and again in 1993/94. Sett ing: The County of Copenhagen, Denmark. Results: Apart from intake fre quencies of alcoholic beverages dietary items were poor predictors of serum ferritin. Besides food intake serum ferritin was associated with blood donation in men, and with menopausal status in women. Conclusio ns: For this middle-aged population, information on alcohol intake and blood loss may be used to rank individuals in relation to iron status , whereas information on intake frequency of dietary items may not.