The importance of habitual vitamin A dietary intake on the serum retinol concentration in the elderly: a population-based study.

INTRODUCTION The aging population is one of the main results of population demographic trends during the twentieth century and will be the hallmark of populations during this century. OBJECTIVE To assess the habitual dietary vitamin A intake and serum retinol concentration in the elderly. MATERIAL AND METHODS This is a population-based epidemiological study conducted in João Pessoa, Paraiba, northeastern Brazil, from July 2008 to January 2010, with 212 individuals from 60 to 90 years of age, from both genders. Habitual food intake, retinolemia and C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as socioeconomic and anthropometric data were collected. RESULTS The median of vitamin A intake was 1643.40 microg EAR/day (p25 = 1112.20-p75 = 2430.80). The average serum retinol concentration was 1.91 +/- 0.68 mmol/L. There was no correlation of CRP concentration with serum retinol (r = 0.061/p = 0.424), nor with the habitual dietary retinol intake (r = 0.000/p = 0.932). However, there was a direct relationship between food intake and serum retinol concentration (r = 0.173/p = 0.025). Only 3.98% (IC95% 6.88-1.08) of subjects had inadequate serum retinol concentrations 1.05 micromol/L), and 12.4% (IC95% 17.36-7.44) had inadequate vitamin A intake (< 625 microg for males and < 500 microg for females). Most individuals assessed in this study showed adequate retinolemia state and habitual dietary vitamin A intake, probably protecting them from this specific nutritional vulnerability, and no correlation between CRP concentration and serum and dietary retinol was found, possibly because these individuals had no acute inflammation and absence of chronic decompensated diseases.