Using Systematic Reviews to Support Future Dietary Reference Intakes: A Letter Report

In response to a request from the US Department of Agriculture, the Health and Medicine Division (HMD) of the National Academies established the Standing Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) Framework. The committee was asked to respond to DRI-related questions to inform the Federal DRI working group about the conduct of new DRI reviews and DRI-related issues more broadly, including their application. This second letter report advises the Federal DRI Working Group on three questions: 1) Are de novo systematic reviews are needed in future DRI reviews or can qualified systematic reviews be used? 2) If qualified systematic reviews can be used, what are the appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria? 3) Can previously published systematic review be updated? In response, the standing committee developed a report that includes a decision tree that addresses the need for systematic reviews to support the DRI process.