Traditional Food Intake Is Correlated with Iron Stores in Canadian Inuit Men ,

Abstract

Accelerated loss of traditional lifestyles may place Inuit at risk of iron depletion given that anemia has been observed among Arctic men. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of anemia, storage iron depletion, and iron overload and to identify correlates of iron status in Canadian Inuit men. In a cross-sectional survey of 994 men in the International Polar Year Inuit Health Survey, 2007-2008, hemoglobin, serum ferritin (SF), soluble transferrin receptor (on a subset), CRP, RBC fatty acid composition, and Helicobacter pylori serology were measured in venous blood drawn from fasting men. Anthropometric, dietary, sociodemographic, and health data were collected. Dietary and nondietary correlates of iron status were assessed with multiple linear and logistic models. For men with CRP ≤10 mg/L (n = 804), 6.5% had depleted, 19.8% had low, and 10.3% had elevated iron stores. Anemia was moderately prevalent (16.1%), but iron deficiency anemia was less common (2.4%). There was a low probability of dietary iron inadequacy (2.4% < Estimated Average Requirement) and excess iron intakes (10.7% > Tolerable Upper Intake Level). Food-insecure men and those without a household hunter had a higher risk of low or depleted iron stores. Adiposity, traditional food intake, long-chain RBC PUFA status, and inflammation were positively associated with SF and food insecurity, smoking, and H. pylori seropositivity were negatively associated with SF. Despite a moderate prevalence of anemia, iron stores are largely adequate in this population, although lower than expected based on iron intake. The regulation of iron metabolism in this population and the high prevalence of anemia in older men warrants further investigation.

Prevalence of unexplained anaemia in Inuit men and Inuit post-menopausal women in Northern Labrador: International Polar Year Inuit Health Survey

“…It is interesting that % RBC EPA, but not % DHA, was associated with lower Hb and increased risk of UA, despite positive associations between long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) and SF. 2,3 There is biological plausibility for this effect, including increased RBC oxidative stress, accelerated RBC turnover, and increased RBC vitamin E requirement with a highly unsaturated fish oil-rich diet. 23 Although not measured in the current study, vitamin E intakes were previously a concern for adequacy among Inuit adults.…”

“…The FFQ assessed frequency of intake over the past year according to seasonal availability, as previously described. 2,14 TF was defined as animal and plant species culturally identified as food and harvested from the local environment, whereas market food was that shipped from the South and purchased in stores 12 .…”

Dietary diversity score is a useful indicator of vitamin A status of adult women in Northern Kenya

“…By incorporating micronutrient health variables in their research in addition to more conventional variables such as energy and anthropometric measurements, human biologists and anthropologists are increasingly contributing to human ecological nutrition, health, and reproduction (e.g. Fujita et al, 2011Fujita et al, , 2012Galloway, 2007;Gittelsohn et al, 1997;Jamieson et al, 2012;Kuhnlein et al, 1997;Miller, 2010;Shell-Duncan and McDade, 2005;Wander et al, 2009). Micronutrient intake or status assessment, however, is often invasive, logistically challenging, and cost prohibitive in field-based studies with anthropological populations.…”

Fish consumption is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes in Manitoba First Nations communities

“…Historically, the diet of FNs was based on traditional foods harvested from the local natural environment. This traditional food consisted of wild meat, fish and bird species, plants, and berries acquired by traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering, contributing to the intake of essential nutrients as well as physical activity and the well-being of FNs (Kuhnlein and Receveur 2007;Jamieson et al 2012). FNs have been undergoing rapid lifestyle and dietary transitions, moving from a traditional high-nutrient diet toward consuming store-bought energy-dense food that is associated with increased rates of obesity and T2D (Kuhnlein et al 2004).…”