Seemingly paradoxical seasonal influences on vitamin D status in nursing-home elderly people from a Mediterranean area.

Objective: We investigated vitamin D status in institutionalized elderly subjects by measuring serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) and its association with season and other factors: age, gender, nutritional status, cognitive function, functional ability, dietary intake, vitamin D supplement consumption, and disease.

Methods: The cross-sectional study included 86 subjects, 65-94 y of age (29 men and 57 women), who lived in three nursing homes in Murcia, a Spanish Mediterranean area. The Mini Nutritional Assessment, Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, and BI were used to evaluate nutritional status, functional ability, and cognitive function, respectively.

Vitamins and minerals: a model for safe addition to foods.

Background: Significant subgroups in most European populations have intakes below nationally recommended levels for several vitamins, minerals and trace elements, placing individuals at risk of suboptimal intake of important vitamins and minerals. The voluntary addition of micronutrients to the appropriate foods may help address the risks associated with low micronutrient intakes. However, concerns need to be addressed regarding the potential for unacceptably high intakes, particularly for those people consuming very large amounts of food.