Herbal and dietary supplement use in a community-dwelling older population

Abstract

This study evaluates the correlation between chronic illnesses and herbal or nutritional supplement use in a community-dwelling older population and estimates the prevalence of potentially serious supplement-drug interactions. A random sample of 405 Medicare enrollees over age 65 were interviewed by telephone. Two hundred and forty-nine participants (60.5%) reported taking at least one dietary supplement. Only 46/99 (46.5%) respondents taking a herbal supplement had disclosed this use to their physician. The most commonly used supplements were green tea extracts, glucosamine and chondroitin. Use of herbal supplements was associated with a higher self-reported rate of adverse drug effects (ADEs) (34.3% vs 21.2%; p =0.007), but none of the events were attributed by the enrollee to the herbal substance. None of the herbal-prescription medication combinations taken by enrollees resulted in symptoms that were consistent with published negative herbal-drug interactions. Vitamins and herbal remedies were commonly used, however, the use of products with known potential supplement-drug interactions was low, and no ADEs were attributed to vitamin or herbal use.