RESUMEN
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to estimate dietary vitamin A intake and examine major food sources of vitamin A in Korean adults. METHODS: Using data from the 2007~2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a total of 33,069 subjects over 19-years-old were included in this study. We estimated individual daily intakes of retinol, carotenoids such as α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin, and lycopene, and vitamin A by linking food consumption data with the vitamin A database of commonly consumed foods. We compared individual vitamin A intakes with the reference value of Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans. RESULTS: Average dietary vitamin A intakes of study subjects were 864.3 µg retinol equivalent/day (495.7 µg retinol activity equivalent/day) in men and 715.0 µg retinol equivalent/day (403.6 µg retinol activity equivalent/day) in women. Exactly 42.9% and 70.6% of total subjects consumed less vitamin A than the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) based on retinol equivalent and retinol activity equivalent, respectively. The major food sources of vitamin A were Korean radish leaves, carrot, red pepper, and laver, and the top 20 foods provided about 80% of total vitamin A intake. CONCLUSION: This study provides basic data for estimation of vitamin A intake in Korean adults. Further research will be needed to analyze the association of insufficient or excess intakes of vitamin A and health problems in the Korean population.