Abstract
Recently, people have used dietary supplements not only for nutritional supplementation, but also for treatment of their diseases. However, use of dietary supplements to treat diseases, especially with medications, may cause health problems in patients. In this study, we investigated use of dietary supplements in patients in Japan. This survey was conducted from January to December 2012, and was completed by 2732 people, including 599 admitted patients, 1154 ambulatory patients, and 979 healthy subjects who attended a seminar about dietary supplements. At the time of the questionnaire, 20.4% of admitted patients, 39.1% of ambulatory patients, and 30.7% of healthy subjects were using dietary supplements, which including vitamin/mineral supplements, herbal extracts, its ingredients, or food for specified health uses. The primary purpose for use in all groups was health maintenance, whereas 3.7% of healthy subjects, 10.0% of ambulatory patients, and 13.2% of admitted patients used dietary supplements to treat diseases. In addition, 17.7% of admitted patients and 36.8% of ambulatory patients were using dietary supplements concomitantly with their medications. However, among both admitted patients and ambulatory patients, almost 70% did not mention dietary supplement use to their physicians. Overall, 3.3% of all subjects realized adverse effects associated with dietary supplements. Communication between patients and physicians is important to avoid health problems associated with the use of dietary supplements.
Highlights
With the rapid increase in the senior population in Japan, chronic diseases associated with aging, such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, and cancer have become a widely recognized social issue
To clarify the recognition and use of dietary supplements among patients, we asked all subjects about their medical status and divided into three categories, admitted patients, ambulatory patients, and healthy subjects
Inappropriate use of dietary supplements in patients may be associated with severe health problems
Summary
With the rapid increase in the senior population in Japan, chronic diseases associated with aging, such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, and cancer have become a widely recognized social issue Against this background, an increase in health consciousness prompts people to use dietary supplements to maintain health and prevent diseases. Manufacturers learned to extract and condense some of the specific nutrients or ingredients in food and offer them as dietary supplements in the form of tablets, capsules, or powders. Except for “Food with Health Claims”, laws for dietary supplements are not defined in Japan This means that most dietary supplements on the market are considered the same as other foods, even if they are in the form of capsules or tablets [5,6]. If patients use dietary supplements to treat diseases without consulting physicians, it may cause health problems.
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