The 2011 report on dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D

Abstract

Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D has been completed; its report (1) was publicly released on 30 November 2010, and the committee is no longer constituted.The report can be found at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/Dietary-Reference-Intakes-for-Calcium-and-Vitamin-D.aspx.Following National Academies procedures, the committee conducted its work free from external influences, including sponsors.The federal sponsors of the report included agencies of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Army, as well as Health Canada.The report addresses a wide range of issues regarding both calcium and vitamin D. As context for the report it was widely recognized that, since publication of the first report on Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) (2) including those for calcium and vitamin D, a great deal of new information has become available.Notably, a review by scientists in federal agencies in the USA and Canada (3) determined that there was sufficient new information to justify a new assessment of DRI for vitamin D and calcium, and the IOM was asked to conduct this study.The process the IOM uses to constitute its committees follows strict rules, including disclosure, and seeks to achieve scientific balance and avoidance of conflicts of interest.The fourteen-member committee* met these requirements.The expert committee started with a wide-open approach, thoroughly reviewing the literature, and obtained input from stakeholders through an open workshop and website.After completion of a draft report in 2010, the report underwent extensive review by external reviewers.The names of the reviewers and report monitors are listed in the final report.The committee report is a consensus report and the process followed assured that the totality of the evidence * This letter draws on the Institute of Medicine report, 'Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D' (2011), which was supported in part by the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Agriculture and Health Canada.It was prepared by a committee composed of