Iron reference intake values for 7- to 23-month-old Brazilian children.

OBJECTIVE

To adapt current iron intake reference values for Brazilian children aged 7-11 and 12-23 months, using the opportunity to apply the principles and rationale of the harmonisation approach.

DESIGN

Nutrient reference values (NRV), including the average requirement (AR) and population reference intake (PRI), were estimated for children aged 7-11 and 12-23 months. We applied and adapted methods from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to estimate the NRV. Body iron losses, iron needs for growth and dietary iron bioavailability were estimated using both local and external data.

SETTING

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

PARTICIPANTS

Data on dietary intake from a probabilistic sample of children aged 7-23 months in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were used to estimate iron consumption and bioavailability.

RESULTS

The mean physiological iron requirements were 0·78 mg/d (7-11 months, male), 0·53 mg/d (7-11 months, female), 0·79 mg/d (12-23 months, male) and 0·54 mg/d (12-23 months, female). Mean dietary iron bioavailability was 7·5 % across all age and sex groups. AR and PRI were 10 mg/d and 19 mg/d for children aged 7-11 months, and 7 mg/d and 13 mg/d for those aged 12-23 months. NRV did not differ by sex.

CONCLUSION

The AR for children aged 7-11 and 12-23 months were 11 mg/d and 8 mg/d, respectively. The corresponding PRI were 20 mg/d and 14 mg/d. The estimated Brazilian NRV were higher than those of the IOM and EFSA. Iron bioavailability was the most influential factor explaining the differences from other NRV.