Assessment of Determinants of Dietary Vitamin D Intake in a Polish National Sample of Male Adolescents.

BACKGROUND/

OBJECTIVES

Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, has a broad physiological effect, and its deficiency has been identified as a risk factor for many diseases. This study aimed to analyze the dietary intake of vitamin D and the factors determining its intake among Polish post-primary school students. The data obtained were then related to the dietary recommendations for the Polish population.

METHODS

The study was conducted on a nationwide sample of 3257 male adolescents (aged 14-20 years) recruited from all macroregions of Poland. Dietary vitamin D intake (dVDi) was assessed using the Vitamin D Estimation Only-Food Frequency Questionnaire (VIDEO-FFQ).

RESULTS

The median dietary intake of vitamin D was 4.36 µg daily. This value was below the recommended intake of 15 µg of vitamin D, according to Polish standards, in almost 80% of the study group. The observed dietary vitamin D intake bellow the recommended level ranged from 35.5% of students attending schools in the North-Western macroregion to 93.7% in the Central macroregion, from 45.4% of students attending schools located in the countryside to 92.7% in big cities, from 85.3% among underweight students to 76.7% of obese students, over 77% in both age groups (14-17 and 18-20 years old), and over 78% in both groups: supplementing and not supplementing vitamin D. Fish and fish products provided the highest vitamin D (38.7%), while cereal products and fats provided the lowest (4.49% and 4.35%, respectively). The highest amounts of vitamin D were provided by salmon, rainbow trout, herring, and eel (fish species containing 7-15 µg of vitamin D in 100 g of product), and halibut, mackerel, brook trout, sole, and tuna (fish species containing 1.05-4 µg of vitamin D in 100 g of product), and these fish were consumed in the largest quantities by male adolescents. Dietary vitamin D intake was notably higher in adolescents from the North-Western macroregion of Poland (median: 50.57 vs. 3.72-5.18 µg daily for other macroregions), those attending schools in the countryside (median: 49.49 vs. 3.97-4.39 µg daily for other locations of the school), those with a normal body weight (median: 4.59 vs. 3.38 µg daily for adolescents with underweight), and those who took vitamin D supplements (median: 4.71 vs. 4.06 µg daily for adolescents not supplemented with vitamin D). However, the results showed that dVDi was not dependent on age.

CONCLUSIONS

The study results indicate that low dVDi among Polish male adolescents can be attributed to the limited supply of vitamin D from dietary sources, especially fish and fish products. The necessity for interventions has been identified, including nutritional education on the role of vitamin D and its sources in the diet.