Vitamins and Minerals

The importance of vitamin and mineral supplementation for persons who have cystic fibrosis (CF) is well established. Prior to the widespread availability of newborn screening, symptoms of overt vitamin or mineral deficiencies often were initial signs indicative of the CF diagnosis. Low vitamin serum levels continue to be seen, but signs of overt deficiency are infrequent and descriptions often are published as case reports. The introduction of CF-specific multivitamin supplements coupled with improved pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) has contributed to the reduction in the incidence and prevalence of deficiencies. First table lists the nutrient content of currently available CF-specific multivitamins with zinc. The content of CF-specific vitamins has evolved since their introduction over 20 years ago resulting in improvement of targeted micronutrient serum levels.