is no basis for expecting an increased pantothenic acid requirement in the elderly, the AI is set at 5 mg/day—the same as for younger adults.

There is little information on pantothenic acid requirements during pregnancy. In a longitudinal study of 26 pregnant women during their third trimester and at 2 weeks and 3 months postpartum, blood pantothenate concentrations were significantly lower than those of 17 nonpregnant control women, but there was no difference in daily urinary excretion during late pregnancy compared with control subjects (Song et al., 1985). Moreover, when data for unsupplemented women measured in the third trimester and again at 2 weeks postpartum were combined, average intake exceeded excretion across the range of intakes (mean dietary intake 5.3 ± 1.7 [SD] mg/day in pregnancy, 5.9 ± 2.0 [SD] mg/day in lactation, and 2 to 11 mg/day overall). In the absence of information showing that usual intakes in the United States and Canada are inadequate to support a healthy pregnancy outcome, and rounding up from this average intake, an AI of 6 mg/day of pantothenic acid is set for pregnant women.