Potential impact of restricted caribou (Rangifer tarandus) consumption on anemia prevalence among Inuit adults in northern Canada

BMC Nutrition

Tiff-Annie Kenny¹  Xue Feng Hu¹  Hing Man Chan¹  Sonia D. Wesche²  Jennifer A. Jamieson³  Harriet V. Kuhnlein⁴ 

[1] 0000 0001 2182 2255, grid.28046.38, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie Private, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, ON, Canada;0000 0001 2182 2255, grid.28046.38, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, 60 University, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, ON, Canada;0000 0004 1936 7363, grid.264060.6, Department of Human Nutrition, St. Francis Xavier University, 2320 Notre Dame Avenue, B2G 2W5, Antigonish, NS, Canada;0000 0004 1936 8649, grid.14709.3b, Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, H9X 3V9, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada;0000 0004 1936 8649, grid.14709.3b, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, H9X 3V9, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada;

关键词: Inuit;    Indigenous;    Anemia;    Hemoglobin;    Animal source food;    Traditional food;    Country food;    Nutrition security;    Food security;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40795-019-0292-9

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCaribou (Rangifer tarandus) is the top dietary source of iron and several micronutrients necessary for red blood cell production (erythropoiesis) in the contemporary diet of Inuit adults across Canada. Many caribou populations across the circumpolar north, however, have experienced dramatic declines in recent decades. Restricted access to caribou may negatively impact the nutrition and health of Inuit communities.MethodsWe used data from the Inuit Health Survey, a cross-sectional survey of 2550 Inuit adults in thirty-six communities across northern Canada (conducted in 2007–2008) to examine the relationship between caribou consumption, hemoglobin (Hb), and blood biomarkers of nutrient intake and contaminant exposure. Multivariable linear regression was used to investigate the potential public health impact of a theoretical restriction in caribou consumption, by estimating the response of Hb concentrations (and the attendant change in anemia prevalence), to theoretical changes in caribou consumption (with and without substitution of caribou with other country food meat).ResultsMean (95% CI) daily caribou meat consumption differed by an order of magnitude 4.3 (3.9–4.7), 51.1 (48.5-53.8), and 236.7 (224.7–248.7) grams/day between tertiles of caribou consumption. Mean (95% CI) hemoglobin levels increased from 129.1 (128.1–130.2) g/L to 132.5 (131.3–133.7) g/L between the highest and lowest tertiles of caribou consumption. In multivariable regression analyses, average daily caribou meat consumption was positively associated (P< 0.001) with hemoglobin levels. This relationship translated into approximately 4 g/L hemoglobin increase in participants in the third tertile of caribou consumption. The overall prevalence of anemia observed in the study population was 26.5% (24.5 – 28.3%) and a modelled restriction in caribou consumption (i.e. caribou = 0) increased the overall prevalence of anemia by approximately 6%. The maximum negative effect of caribou restrictions was related to a complete restriction on caribou consumption, coupled with the substitution of caribou with other country food meat (35.4% prevalence).ConclusionsGiven the importance of caribou to Inuit culture, health and wellbeing, and the high price of healthful market foods in remote northern communities, strategies to promote the sustainable harvest of country foods are urgently required to ensure the health and nutrition security of the Inuit, in the context of rapidly changing Arctic environments and ecosystems.

【 授权许可】

CC BY