Author:

• Caroline da Rosa Pavlak - Pavlak, C.R - <caroliner2007@gmail.com>
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9478-7849

Co-author(s):

• Sotero Serrate Mengue - Mengue, S.S - <sotero@ufrgs.br>
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3349-8541

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was estimate the prevalence of the use of vitamins and/or minerals in the urban Brazilian population aged 20 years and over and to identify associated factors. Datathe National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of the Rational Use of Medicines in Brazil (PNAUM) were analyzed, population-based cross-sectional study, with probability sampling, carried out in urban areas of the five geographic regions of the country between September 2013 and February 2014. The estimated prevalence of the use of vitamins and/or minerals was 4.8% (95%CI 4.3-5.3), higher in females, 6.4% (95%CI 5.7-7.1) and in the elderly population, 11.6% (95%CI 10.5-12.8). The use of vitamins and/or minerals was associated with the factors: female gender, 60 years of age or older, economic class A/B, chronic disease(s) and self-perceived health as regular and very poor/poor. Multivitamins and multiminerals had the highest frequency of use, 24.5% (95%CI 20.1-29.4), followed by calcium and vitamin D, 23.4% (95%CI 19.7-27.5). The data suggest that elderly women should be the reference public for actions to promote rational use. It is recommended that nationwide epidemiological surveys expand the observation of these products to enable trend analysis.

Keywords:

Vitamins; Minerals; Micronutrients; Socioeconomic Factors; Health Surveys.

Content:

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