Use of dietary supplements by female seniors in a large Northern California health plan

Abstract

Background: Women aged ≥ 65 years are high utilizers of prescription and over-the-counter medications, and many of these women are also taking dietary supplements. Dietary supplement use by older women is a concern because of possible side effects and drug-supplement interactions. The primary aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of dietary supplement use among older women in a large health plan in Northern California, USA, to raise awareness among health care providers and pharmacists about the need for implementing structural and educational interventions to minimize adverse consequences of self-directed supplement use. A secondary aim was to raise awareness about how the focus on use of herbals and megavitamins that has occurred in most surveys of complementary and alternative therapy use results in a significant underestimate of the proportion of older women who are using all types of dietary supplements for the same purposes.

Predictors of dietary supplement use among female health workers in Tehran

“…Gordon and her colleagues showed that some health conditions (arthritis, depression) were significantly associated with higher likelihood of using some kinds of supplements, while another (diabetes) was associated with lower likelihood of use [3]. We think the controversy between our results may be related to this concept that we did not ask the presence of any chronic health problem among subjects in detail and we know it may have affected the results.…”

“…This rate is lower than the rate among women in California-USA [3] and much more than the rate among adults in Alberta [9], Korea [10] and Jordan [11]. In Norway 58% of adult women used dietary supplements whereas in Sweden 43% of women reported taking all kinds of supplements [12].…”

“…Gordon and her colleagues found that supplement use was significantly higher among women who had higher levels of education so that education beyond high school was the strongest predictor of using supplements [3]. Educational status and supplement use were assessed in a survey carried out in Denmark in 2001.…”

“…Recent studies showed that estimated prevalence of dietary supplement use is higher than those derived from previous surveys [1-3]. While many dietary supplements are safe at certain periods for most people to use [4], there is growing evidence that some type of supplements can cause serious adverse effects or have no beneficial effects [5-7].…”

Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the Risk and Treatment of Breast Cancer

“…DHA)-22:6 n-3 Tuna, fatty fish-salmon, mackerel, herring, trout, swordfish, sea bass, and pollock a From Duyff R 42. capsules may also cause gastrointestinal distress, including diarrhea, heartburn, indigestion, nausea, and abdominal bloating 31,34. …”