Abstract
BackgroundThere has been little knowledge about dietary supplementation by the Chinese elderly. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the usage of dietary supplements by older adults in southern China.MethodsA total of 600 community-dwelling older adults were recruited from the outpatient clinics of three major hospitals in Foshan city between July 2007 and July 2008. Face-to-face interviews of participants were conducted to obtain information on demographics, lifestyle and dietary supplements use. Frequency and duration of usage were recorded for six categories of dietary supplements.ResultsAmong the 446 consented participants (241 men and 205 women) who were over 55 years of age, 19.1% consumed one or more types of dietary supplements. The prevalence of usage was significantly higher (p = 0.008) for females (24.4%) than for males (14.5%). Dietary supplements were more likely to be consumed by non-smokers (p = 0.021) and those with hyperlipidemia (p = 0.003). The most popular supplement among users was calcium (53%). The majority (71%) of the users consumed supplements on a regular basis at one or more times per day, with an average duration of 2.95 (SD 4.80) years.ConclusionThe overall prevalence of dietary supplementation in this older Chinese population was considerably lower than those in other Asia-Pacific countries.
Highlights
There has been little knowledge about dietary supplementation by the Chinese elderly
A randomized controlled trial suggested that regular intake of multivitamin and multi-mineral supplements may reduce infection among patients with diabetes [4]
In another study that investigated the pooled data from eight prospective studies, no association was evident between the lung cancer risk and the use of folate, vitamins A, C, E, and multivitamins [7]
Summary
There has been little knowledge about dietary supplementation by the Chinese elderly. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the usage of dietary supplements by older adults in southern China. Especially multivitamins and mineral supplements, have been widely consumed in many developed countries even though their effectiveness is unclear [1,2,3]. A randomized controlled trial suggested that regular intake of multivitamin and multi-mineral supplements may reduce infection among patients with diabetes [4]. The protective effect of multivitamin supplements intake against the progression of HIV was observed in a randomized controlled trial [5]. A meta-analysis of five randomized control trials found no significant beneficial effect of multivitamin and multimineral supplements [6]. A meta-analysis of 19 trials concluded that high-dosage of vitamin E supplements could (page number not for citation purposes)
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