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April 30, 2014
Dietary Supplement Use More Common Than
Previously Reported

Washington, D.C.—Pharmacists see it every day: a lot of U.S. adults are asking about and purchasing dietary supplements.

In fact, supplement use is greater than reported by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) and is increasing rapidly, according to an article published recently in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

The review article is based on 5 consecutive years of online market research studies, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), an industry trade group.

“This new review adds to the literature about usage patterns of dietary supplement users. The NHANES data is of course invaluable, but it only asks respondents about their dietary supplement usage over a 30-day period. The CRN/Ipsos data included regular, occasional and seasonal use throughout the year, which more realistically captures the full scope of dietary supplement utilization, explained corresponding author Annette Dickinson, PhD, a CRN consultant.

Overall dietary supplement use in 2007 ranged from 64% to 69%, according to the survey. “Regular” use, on the other hand, was from 48% to 53%, which was more in line with the prevalence reported in NHANES.

Over the 5-year period, the percentage of respondents who said that they regularly used a variety of supplements increased from 28% to 36%. The percentage of respondents who said that they regularly used only a multivitamin, as opposed to a variety of supplements, declined from 24% to 17% over the time period.

By 2011, the last of the 5 years, twice as many regular users said they used a variety of products, compared to those who used only a multivitamin. The primary reasons given for using dietary supplements were “overall health and wellness” and “to fill nutrient gaps in the diet.”

More detailed results were obtained with the 2011 survey, and study authors say that data confirms that supplement use increases with age and is higher in women than in men.

In terms of types of products, vitamin or mineral supplements were used by 67% of all respondents in 2011, specialty supplements by 35%, botanicals by 23%, and sports supplements by 17%.

Over the study period, multivitamins were the most commonly used supplement at 71%, followed by omega-3 or fish oil (33%), calcium (32%), vitamin D (32%), and vitamin C (32%).

As shown in previous research, the CRN surveys document that users of dietary supplements are more likely than nonusers to adopt a variety of healthy habits.

“What the data tells us is that dietary supplement usage is a mainstream practice, and, contrary to some assertions, supplement users do not use these products as a license to slack off on eating right or exercising, but instead are health conscious individuals trying to do all the right things to be healthy,” said coauthor Judy Blatman, CRN’s senior vice president, communications. “They are more likely than nonusers to try to eat a balanced diet, visit their doctor regularly, get a good night's sleep, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight.”

“The CRN data and NHANES data both indicate that half to two-thirds of American adults use dietary supplements and that their motivation comes from a desire to stay healthy. The evidence suggests that supplement use is viewed as one component of an overall wellness strategy,” Dickinson added.





U.S. Pharmacist Social Connect