Nutrient intakes and adequacy among an older population on the eastern shore of Maryland: The Salisbury Eye Evaluation

Objective To describe the reported usual dietary intakes of the participant s in the Salisbury Eye Evaluation (SEE) project and to estimate the prevale nce of inadequate nutrient intakes using the probability approach. Subjects/setting A representative sample of elderly residents (aged 65 to 8 5 years) of Salisbury, Md. Design Cross-sectional survey, using a food frequency questionnaire to obta in nutrient intakes. We estimated energy and protein; percent of energy int ake from carbohydrates, fat, and protein; as well as usual intakes of chole sterol, vitamin AI carotenoids, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6 , vitamin, niacin, iron, calcium, zinc, and folate. Estimates of prevalence of inadequate nutrient intakes were calculated using the probability appro ach among the 2,655 participants with complete nutrient intake information. Statistical analyses performed The chi(2) test for independence and analysi s of variance. A P<.05 was considered significant in a 2-sided test. Result On average,white participants of both genders reported higher mean e nergy and nutrient intakes than did. black participants. Zinc had the highe st estimated prevalences of inadequacy across all gender and race categorie s, followed by calcium;vitamin E, and vitamin B-6. Vitamin C, with estimate d prevalences of inadequacy lower than 13%, and folate, with prevalences lo wer than 17%, had the lowest estimated prevalences of inadequacy across all gender, race, and age categories. Conclusions In this population, there are race differences in estimated pre valences of inadequate nutrient intake. According to the current nutrient r equirements for adults aged 51 years and older, many elderly persons have i nadequate dietary intakes of key nutrients.