Estimation of Vitamin B₆ Intake and Major Dietary Sources of Vitamin B₆ in Elderly Koreans in the Seoul Area

Dietary intakes and sources of vitamin B$_{6}$ in 72 healthy Korean elderly subjects (29 men,43 women, $\geq$57 years of age) living in the Seoul area were estimated using a modified Korean vitamin B$_{6}$ database. The dietary vitamin B$_{6}$ intake and food sources were estimated by the three day recall method with the help of a trained interviewer. Food portion sizes were estimated using standard household measures and published average portion sizes. The average daily vitamin B$_{6}$ intake was 2.06$\pm$0.46 mg/d in elderly men, and 1.94$\pm$ 0.47 mg/d in elderly women. Less than 5% of elderly men and 15% of elderly women consumed less than the Korean Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin B$_{6}$. The average ratios of vitamin Be intake to daily protein intake were 0.03 $\pm$ 0.01 mg/g in both elderly men and women. The intake of vitamin B$_{6}$ was significantly (p <0.01 ∼ p<0.001) and positively correlated to intakes of all other nutrients in elderly women, but was not significantly correlated to intakes of several nutrients in elderly men. Foods from animal and plant sources provided 24% and 76%, respectively, of the total vitamin B$_{6}$. Major dietary sources of vitamin B$_{6}$ in Korean elderly were rice, soybean sprout, kimchi, pork, beef, potatoes, garlic, onion, anchovy and kochujang. The major sources accounted for most of the vitamin B$_{6}$ intake with the top 20 foods providing nearly 75∼76% of the total vitamin B$_{6}$ in Korean elderly./ in Korean elderly.