ODS Population Studies Program

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Program Activities
• Ongoing Collaborations
• Education and Training
• Publications

Overview

The Population Studies Program evaluates the use of dietary supplements by the U.S. population and specific population subgroups and the contributions that dietary supplements make to nutritional status. Research is focused on describing the use of dietary supplements, including specific supplements taken, amount consumed, and duration of use. This program uses data from nationally representative surveys and other large population-based studies to conduct research and characterize emerging issues such as changing patterns in use of these products. Staff also lead efforts to address methodological issues in assessing dietary and dietary-supplement intakes in epidemiological and other large studies.

Program Activities

• Dietary Supplement Use
  • Characterizing supplement use in groups such as infants and toddlers, females of reproductive age, pregnant women, and older adults
  • Evaluating dietary supplement use in relation to demographics, lifestyle, health status, and disease risk
  • Estimating total nutrient intakes from all sources, including foods, beverages, and dietary supplements
     
• Nutritional Status in the U.S Population 
  • Monitoring vitamin D status  
  • Assessing iodine intake and status and identifying new biomarkers of iodine status
  • Evaluating intakes of folate and vitamin B12 and associated biomarker status
  • Investigating iron status of pregnant women and their infants
     
• Methodological Issues in Assessing Dietary Supplement Use
  • Examining various food frequency questionnaires used in studies to compare how they assess dietary supplement use.
  • Analyzing how dietary-supplement use by lactating women may affect the nutritional composition of their milk in the Human Milk Composition study being conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services
     
• Development and Use of Assessment Tools
  • Collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on developing new methods in NHANES to collect information on the use of infant formula and its composition as stated on product labels
  • Partnering with CDC on determining best methods to assess iodine intake from foods and salt
  • Consulting on issues related to dietary assessment in studies of pregnancy and offspring that have been completed or are being planned. These include:
    • The Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program being coordinated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
    • The Infant Feeding Practices Study III being conducted by CDC
  • Providing input on the best approaches for dietary assessment and research needs in the following efforts:
    • The All of Us Research Program at the NIH
    • Dietary Guidelines for Americans planning guide
       
• Development and Use of Validated Biomarkers of Nutrient Exposure and Status
  • Working with a laboratory at the CDC National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) to develop new biomarkers of omega-3 fatty acids in blood and forms of folate in red blood cells
  • Working with the CDC NCEH to develop new tests for markers of inflammation and iron status, which may be used on archived samples of blood from infants and children from the National Children’s Study and new studies of intants in  NHANES. 
  • Collaborating with the CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity to identify biomarkers of iodine status

Ongoing Collaborations

The Population Studies Program interacts and collaborates with these federal agencies to carry out its work: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), Office of Disease Prevention (ODP), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Education and Training

The Population Studies Program will provide educational opportunities to individuals (such as summer internships) on methods to assess total nutrient intakes in large population-based studies that incorporate dietary supplement use.

Publications

• Vitamin D status in the United States, 2011-2014.
  Herrick KA, Storandt RJ, Afful J, Pfeiffer CM, Schleicher RL, Gahche JJ, Potischman NP.  Am J Clin Nutr. 2019 May 10. pii: nqz037. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz037. [Epub ahead of print]

• Dietary supplement use among infants and toddlers aged <24 months in the United States, NHANES 2007-2014.
  Gahche JJ, Herrick KA, Potischman NP, Bailey RL, Ahluwalia N, Dwyer JT.  J Nutr 2019;149:314-322.

• Personal ultraviolet radiation exposure in a cohort of Chinese mother and child pairs: The Chinese Families and Children Study.
  Kimlin MG, Fang L, Feng Y, Wang L, Hao L, Fan J, Wang N, Meng F, Yang R, Cong S, Liang X, Wang B, Linet M, Potischman NP, Kitahara C, Chao A, Yu W, Sun J, Brodie A.  BMC Public Health 2019 Mar 8;19(1):281.

• Best practices for dietary supplement assessment and estimation of total usual nutrient intakes in population-level research and monitoring.
  Bailey RL, Dodd KW, Gahche JJ, Dwyer JT, Cowan AE, Jun S, Eicher-Miller HA, Guenther PM, Bhadra A, Thomas PR, Potischman NP, Carroll RJ, Tooze JA.  J Nutr 2019;149:181-197. 

• Use of iodine-containing dietary supplements remains low among women of reproductive age in the United States: NHANES 2011-2014.
  Gupta PM, Gahche JJ, Herrick KA, Ershow AG, Potischman N, Perrine CG. Nutrients 2018;10.

• Total usual nutrient intakes of US children (under 48 months): findings from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2016.
  Bailey RL, Catellier DJ, Jun S, Dwyer JT, Jacquier EF, Anater AS, Eldridge AL.  J Nutr 2018 Sep 1;148(9S):1557S-1566S.

• Comparing reported dietary supplement intakes between two 24-hour recall methods: the Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Assessment Tool and the Interview-Administered Automated Multiple Pass Method.
  Pannucci TE, Thompson FE, Bailey RL, Dodd KW, Potischman N, Kirkpatrick SI, Alexander GL, Coleman LA, Kushi LH, Groesbeck M, Sundaram M, Clancy H, George SM, Kahle L, Subar AF. J Acad Nutr Diet  2018;118:1080-6.

• Comparison of self-reported dietary intakes from the Automated Self-Administered 24-h Recall, 4-d food records, and food-frequency questionnaires against recovery biomarkers.
  Park Y, Dodd KW, Kipnis V, Thompson FE, Potischman N, Schoeller DA, Baer DJ, Midthune D, Troiano RP, Bowles H, Subar AF. Am J Clin Nutr 2018;107:80-93.

• Dietary supplement use was very high among older adults in the United States in 2011–2014.
  Gahche JJ, Bailey RL, Potischman N, Dwyer JT. J Nutr 2017;147:1968-76.

• Testing usability of the Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD): A resource for consumers, professionals, and researchers.
  Potischman N, Salazar S, Susser J, Saldanha LSJ, Dwyer J, Kuzak A, Betz J, Bailen R. J Nutr Educ Behav 2017;49:S99.

• Correspondence of folate dietary intake and biomarker data.
  Bailey RL, Fulgoni VL, Taylor CL, Pfeiffer CM, Thuppal SV, McCabe GP, Yetley EA. Am J Clin Nutr 2017;105:1336-43.

• The use of digital images in 24-hour recalls may lead to less misestimation of portion size compared with traditional interviewer-administered recalls.
  Kirkpatrick SI, Potischman N, Dodd KW, Douglass D, Zimmerman TP, Kahle LL, Thompson FE, George SM, Subar AF. J Nutr 2016;146:2567-73.

• Applying inappropriate cutoffs leads to misinterpretation of folate status in the US population.
  Pfeiffer CM, Sternberg MR, Hamner HC, Crider KS, Lacher DA, Rogers LM, Bailey RL, Yetley EA. Am J Clin Nutr 2016;104:1607-15. 

• Estimating sodium and potassium intakes and their ratio in the American diet: data from the 2011-2012 NHANES.
  Bailey RL, Parker EA, Rhodes DG, Goldman JD, Clemens JC, Moshfegh AJ, Thuppal SV, Weaver CM. J Nutr 2016 Mar 9. pii: jn221184. [Epub ahead of print]

• A review of cutoffs for nutritional biomarkers.
  Raghavan R, Ashour FS, Bailey R. Adv Nutr 2016;7:112-20.

• Update on NHANES dietary data: focus on collection, release, analytical considerations, and uses to inform public policy.
  Ahluwalia N, Dwyer J, Terry A, Moshfegh A, Johnson C. Adv Nutr 2016;7:121-34.

• Use of highly fortified products among US adults.
  Costello R, Dwyer J, Bailey R, Saldanha L, French S. Nutr Today 2015;50:294-300.
   
• B-vitamin status and bone mineral density and risk of lumbar osteoporosis in older females in the United States.
  Bailey RL, Looker AC, Lu Z, Fan R, Eicher-Miller HA, Fakhouri TH, Gahche JJ, Weaver CM, Mills JL. Am J Clin Nutr 2015;102:687-94.
   
• Using 2 assessment methods may better describe dietary supplement intakes in the United States.
  Nicastro HL, Bailey RL, Dodd KW.  J Nutr 2015;145:1630-4.
   
• Folate status and concentrations of serum folate forms in the US population: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2.
  Pfeiffer CM, Sternberg MR, Fazili Z, Lacher DA, Zhang M, Johnson CL, Hamner HC, Bailey RL, Rader JI, Yamini S, Berry RJ, Yetley EA. Br J Nutr 2015;113:1965-77.
   
• Unmetabolized folic acid is detected in nearly all serum samples from US children, adolescents, and adults.
  Pfeiffer CM, Sternberg MR, Fazili Z, Yetley EA, Lacher DA, Bailey RL, Johnson CL. J Nutr 2015;145:520-31.
   
• Multivitamin-mineral use is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease mortality among women in the United States.
  Bailey RL, Fakhouri TH, Park Y, Dwyer JT, Thomas PR, Gahche JJ, Miller PE, Dodd KW, Sempos CT, Murray DM. J Nutr 2015;145:572-8.