Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol 13, Issue 1 57-61, Copyright © 1994 by American College of Nutrition

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Thiamin status of the elderly: dietary intake and thiamin pyrophosphate response

H. K. Nichols and T. K. Basu
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between thiamin intake and its biochemical status in 60 free-living (30 male, 30 female) elderly subjects (> or = 65 years). DESIGN: Dietary intake was estimated using a 3-nonconsecutive-day food record. Biochemical status was assessed by measuring the stimulating effect of thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) on transketolase activity (TPP effect) in hemolyzed erythrocytes, which is a functional test indicative of metabolic availability of thiamin. RESULTS: Average daily thiamin intake was above the recommended requirement (> 0.4 mg/1000 Kcal) for each gender; however, almost half of the total study population had TPP effect > 14%, suggesting thiamin deficiency. There was no correlation between thiamin intake and TPP effect. CONCLUSION: These findings raise questions about the reliability of dietary intake in assessing metabolic availability of thiamin in the elderly.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. M. Nabokina and H. M. Said Characterization of the 5'-regulatory region of the human thiamin transporter SLC19A3: in vitro and in vivo studies Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, October 1, 2004; 287(4): G822 - G829. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Wolters, S. Hermann, and A. Hahn B vitamin status and concentrations of homocysteine and methylmalonic acid in elderly German women Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, October 1, 2003; 78(4): 765 - 772. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. M. Said, A. Ortiz, C. K. Kumar, N. Chatterjee, P. K. Dudeja, and S. Rubin Transport of thiamine in human intestine: mechanism and regulation in intestinal epithelial cell model Caco-2 Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, October 1, 1999; 277(4): C645 - C651. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]