Nutritional status of Quebec Indians

The nutritional status of more than 80% of adult Indians in three bands in a remote area of Quebec was studied during the summer of 1978 and the findings were compared with the results of the 1970 to 1972 Nutrition Canada national and Indian surveys in which the Indian participation rate was 30%. In the present study, hematocrit, serum iron, transferrin saturation, serum vitamin E, serum folic acid, and urine thiamin excretion patterns showed only minor differences from Nutrition Canada's national and Indian survey. Serum total protein values were slightly higher in Indians than in the national sample, consistent with previous findings. A higher percentage of subjects had low serum concentrations of vitamin A and ascorbic acid than in the previous Indian survey, but not to such a marked degree.