New research has found alarming micronutrient deficiencies among people worldwide regardless of age, race, or country, according to a study published Aug. 29 in the journal The Lancet Global Health.
Based on data collected from 185 countries from 1990 to 2018, the study reveals that more than 5 billion people do not consume enough iodine, vitamin E, and calcium in their daily diets, and more than 4 billion don’t consume enough iron, vitamin C, riboflavin, and folate.
The researchers used data from the World Bank for population estimates and the Global Dietary Database (GDD) to estimate micronutrient intake, including dietary recall surveys in 31 countries, according to the study. The GDD provides the only estimates researchers could find for micronutrient intake levels, which are calculated from individual household surveys, dietary intake surveys, and national food supplies.
Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) contributed to the peer-reviewed study.
“These results are alarming… These gaps compromise health outcomes and limit human potential on a global scale,” researcher Ty Beal, a senior technical specialist at GAIN, said in an Aug. 29 news release.
Such deficiencies are one of the largest contributors to malnutrition and can lead to things such as blindness, pregnancy issues, and increased vulnerability to infectious diseases, according to the researchers.
The study assessed the intake levels of 15 key micronutrients among people categorized into male and female groups ranging from infants to people 80 years old, in five-year spans, plus an age 80 and older group.
Results found that 68 percent of the world’s population was deficient in iodine, followed by vitamin E at 67 percent, calcium at 66 percent, and iron at 65 percent. Niacin recorded the least deficient levels, with 22 percent of people not consuming enough.
Men overall had lower intake levels than women for most nutrients.
Researchers found lower intake levels in men for calcium, niacin, zinc, magnesium, thiamin, and vitamins A, C, and B6. Women were generally found to have less sufficient intake of iodine, vitamin B12, iron, and selenium, comparing people of the same country and age groups.
Senior author Christopher Golden, an associate professor of nutrition and planetary health at Harvard Chan School, said in the news release the findings should give health practitioners and policymakers the tools they need to address the problem.
“The public health challenge facing us is immense, but practitioners and policymakers have the opportunity to identify the most effective dietary interventions and target them to the populations most in need,” he said.
Intake levels also varied by country. People in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, and the Pacific generally ingested the least amount of calcium, especially people aged 10 to 30.
People in North America, Europe, and central Asia were generally found to have better calcium intake levels, according to the study. People in Canada and Europe also stood out with having better intake levels for iodine compared to the rest of the world.
According to the news release, the study is the first to measure such nutrient levels on a global scale but is limited by some data unavailable to researchers, like people’s individual dietary intake.
Co-lead author Chris Free, a research professor at UCSB, said the study is a “big step forward” because it is the first of its kind to estimate the nutrient levels for both men and women among various age groups.