3. Results
All but 16 women in this analysis (0.02%) reported taking a dietary supplement in some amount and for some time during pregnancy; however, only 86.7% took a prenatal micronutrient supplement (Regarding vitamins, vitamin C, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and thiamin (the latter two only for Hispanic/Latina participants who completed 24 h recalls) had fewer than 25% of the participants below the EAR from the diet data. Mean dietary intakes of vitamin B6 and thiamin were below the EAR for 31 and 36%, respectively, of the participants who completed the DHQ-II and 17 and 13%, respectively, for those who completed the 24 h recalls. The dietary intake of vitamin D was below the EAR for over 85% of the participants. Dietary Vitamin E was below the EAR for over 70% of the participants, and dietary folate was below the EAR for more than half of the participants. Like thiamin and vitamin B6, participants who completed the 24 h recalls differed from those who completed the DHQ-II in being less likely to be below the EAR for choline, though both methods of assessment identified choline as a micronutrient of risk (DHQ-II, 84% below the AI; 24 h recalls, 58% below the AI). The addition of supplements to the diet effectively addressed the population deficits for all vitamins except choline (Regarding minerals, approximately 30% of the participants were below the EAR or AI for calcium, 33% for zinc, 40% for magnesium, 85% for iron, and 52.5% for potassium, while fewer than 10% of the women had dietary intakes below the EAR or AI for copper and selenium when their diet alone was considered (While the dietary intake of chromium and iodine could not be determined, the amount of the AI contributed by supplements was small, suggesting that if these minerals are deficient in the diet, the deficiencies would not be corrected by prenatal supplements. A database for iodine in foods was published after the study was completed [Of the 928 women with reliable data for supplement intake, over 90% reported taking a supplement that contained folic acid, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E, while fewer than 25% took a supplement containing choline, chromium, manganese, potassium, and selenium (Of the 136 unique prenatal multivitamin–mineral supplements consumed, more than 90% contained varying amounts of folic acid, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and zinc and 75% or more contained calcium, iron, riboflavin, and thiamin. Fewer than 31% contained choline, chromium, manganese, potassium, or selenium (The trial randomized participants to a DHA supplement; therefore, their intake of a DHA supplement is not informative for US pregnant women. The DHA intake at the baseline may be related to that of other US cohorts. Their average intake of DHA from their diet was 84.5 mg (0–529 mg) and supplement intake averaged 84.4 mg (0–797 mg). Although 55.5% of the participants were taking a supplement of DHA, only 34.9% of those were taking a supplement of ≥200 mg, the amount recommended by several expert groups from seafood intake or supplements [