Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #376135
Title: Our current Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A — Now 20 years old

Author
item ROSS, CATHERINE - Pennsylvania State University
item MORAN, NANCY - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Current Developments in Nutrition
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2020
Publication Date: 5/29/2020
Citation: Ross, C.A., Moran, N.E. 2020. Our current Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A — Now 20 years old. Current Developments in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa096.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa096

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Dietary Reference Intake values (DRIs) for vitamin A were last reviewed and defined in 2001. At the time, there was very sparse data that could be used to set the DRIs for pregnancy, lactation, and infancy. In the subsequent 20 years since the last formal review, a number of findings relevant to the adequacy indicator of visual dark adaptation in pregnancy, the usual vitamin A content of breast milk across lactation stages, and vitamin A metabolism in women and children have been published. Furthermore, identification of genetic variables affecting the bioconversion of provitamin A carotenoids to vitamin A have provided an improved explanation for interindividual variability in responses to provitamin A carotenoids. The purpose of this collection or articles, introduced herein, is to review and apply recent findings about vitamin A status, address current gaps in knowledge, and suggest avenues for future research needed to refine the DRIs for pregnancy, lactation, and early life.