Association Between Ready-to-Eat Cereal Consumption and Serum Level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in US Children and Adults, NHANES 2013–2014

Previous studies have shown that consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal is associated with higher dietary intake of vitamin D; however, little is known about the association between RTE cereal consumption and vitamin D status measured by the serum biomarker, 25-hydroxyvitamin D. The study was conducted to examine association between consumption of RTE cereal and serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the clinical biomarker for vitamin D status in children and adults in the United States. Children aged 1–18 years old (N = 2553) and adults aged 19 years or older (N = 4901) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013–2014 were included in the study. Day 1 dietary data were used to classify participants by RTE cereal consumption status. Vitamin D deficiency and inadequacy were assessed by serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitaminD using cut-off values recommended by the National Academy of Medicine. Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using survey logistic regression for associations between RTEC consumption and vitamin D status in children and adults. Both children and adults who reported RTE cereal consumption had a significantly higher level of serum 25-hydroxyitamin D than children and adults who did not consume RTE cereal (P < 0.05). Adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, family income to poverty ratio, season of data collection, and use of vitamin D containing supplements, children who consumed RTE cereal were less likely to have vitamin D inadequacy than non-eaters (aOR = 0.48, 95% CI = [0.34, 0.68]). In adults, RTEC eaters were less likely to have vitamin D deficiency than non-eaters (aOR = 0.52, 95% CI = [0.28, 0.97]). Consumption of RTE cereal is associated with better vitamin D status in both children and adults in the United States. The study was funded by the Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, General Mills, Inc.