| Over 500 randomly-selected newly-hospitalized patients in an urban medical center participated in a survey to determine prevalence of vitamin, mineral, herbal, and other dietary supplement use. Supplement users were mostly female, Caucasian, unmarried, highly educated, overweight/obese, averaging 48 +/- 16 years old. Over 78% of patients consumed supplements within the past year, most commonly using multivitamins, calcium, vitamins C and E, and liquid nutritional supplements. Highest use of multivitamins was among obstetrical/gynecological patients, who were over three times more likely to use multivitamins than other patients. Patients with gastrointestinal diagnoses were almost five times more likely to use calcium supplements than other patients. Caucasians were significantly more likely to take calcium than African Americans. Main reasons for supplement use were to improve general health and prevent disease. Physicians, friends, and family encouraged this use. High supplement use among patients warrants careful documentation to help avoid supplement-drug interactions during hospitalization. |
