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Predictors for cod-liver oil supplement use — the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 58, pages 128–136 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: To assess the use of cod-liver oil supplements among Norwegian women and to examine dietary, lifestyle, demographic, and health factors associated with use of this supplement.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting and subjects: The study is based on data from a food frequency questionnaire from 1998 answered by 37 226 women aged 41–55 y, who in 1991/1992 participated in the Norwegian component of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The Norwegian EPIC cohort was based on a random nation-wide sample of Norwegian women.

Results: Cod-liver oil supplement use was reported by 44.7% of the participating women. Subjects with higher education, high physical activity level, and body mass index (BMI) in the normal range were more likely to use cod-liver oil supplements. Consumption did also increase with increased age as well as with increased reported consumption of fruits, vegetables, fatty fish, lean fish, and vitamin D (excluding the vitamin D contribution from cod-liver oil). Energy intake was higher among cod-liver oil users than nonusers. Whole-year daily users of cod-liver oil were also more likely to take other dietary supplements (OR=2.45, 95% CI: 2.28–2.62). Never smokers were more likely to use cod-liver oil supplements than current smokers.

Conclusion: Use of cod-liver oil is associated with several sociodemographic factors, self-reported health issues, and intake of fish, fruit, and vegetables. When assessing the relationship between cod-liver oil use and occurrence of chronic diseases potential confounders need to be considered. Cod-liver oil use seemed not to be matched with vitamin D needs. Thus, emphasis on assessing vitamin D status by measuring levels in blood should be investigated further, in particular, among people living in northern latitudes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was carried out with support from the Research Council of Norway. We thank Guri Skeie (Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway) for carrying out the nutrition calculations, Elin Alsaker (Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway) for helping with the computer programming, and Professor Evert Nieboer (McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada) for revising the English language.

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  1. Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway

    M Brustad, T Braaten & E Lund

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  1. M Brustad
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  2. T Braaten
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  3. E Lund
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Guarantor: M Brustad.

Contributors: MB wrote the paper and performed the statistical analysis. TB supervised the statistical analysis and contributed to the writing of the paper. EL was the principal investigator.

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Correspondence to M Brustad.

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Brustad, M., Braaten, T. & Lund, E. Predictors for cod-liver oil supplement use — the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 128–136 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601759

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