Inappropriate Usage of Dietary Supplements in Patients by Miscommunication with Physicians in Japan

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.

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“…We previously surveyed dietary supplement usage in patients in Japan and found that some had been concomitantly taking dietary supplements and medicines 12) . However, approximately 70% of these patients did not declare the use of dietary supplements to their physicians 12) .…”

“…However, approximately 70% of these patients did not declare the use of dietary supplements to their physicians 12) . Therefore, health issues caused by interactions between dietary supplements and drugs may occur.…”

“…The concurrent use of dietary supplements and drugs has recently become prevalent 12) . Physicians and pharmacists need to be aware of which of their patients are concomitantly using dietary supplements and medicines because many herbs (e.g., black cohosh, coleus forskohlii, echinacea, garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, green tea, kava, milk thistle, and St. John's wort) 13–18) and ingredients (e.g., catechins 19) , curcuminoids 20) , isoflavones 21) , quercetin 22) , and polyphenols 23) ) affect drug-metabolizing enzymes.…”

Regulatory Aspects of Nutraceuticals

“…However, some consumers expect such food products to have effects similar to those of drugs (Chiba et al, 2014b). However, some consumers expect such food products to have effects similar to those of drugs (Chiba et al, 2014b).…”

“…Consumers are highly motivated to take advantage of such functionalities in an effort to improve and maintain health and, in some cases, to prevent disease (Chiba et al, 2014b). Recent developments in food science and technology have revealed various physiological functionalities in foods and food components.…”