Recent Trends in Use of Herbal and Other Natural Products

February 14, 2005

Vol. 165 No. 3, February 14, 2005 Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:281-286

Judith P. , MS; W. Kaufman, ScD; Kelley, RPh; Lynn

Rosenberg, ScD; Theresa E. , RN; A. , MD

Background: The benefits of herbal and other natural products (dietary

supplements) are increasingly cited in the media. Dramatic increases in use

reported during the last decade have led to growing concerns about efficacy and

safety.

Methods: To determine which dietary supplements American adults use, whether

the prevalence has continued to increase in recent years, and whether popularity

of individual supplements has changed, demographic information and details of

use of all medicines and dietary supplements in the preceding week were obtained

by telephone interview from February 1998 through December 2002 from households

in 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Participants included

randomly selected residents of households with telephones; compared with 2000 US

Census data, participants were representative of the US population. The main

outcome measure was the weekly prevalence of dietary supplement use, alone or in

a multicomponent product.

Results: There were 8470 subjects 18 years or older. The annual prevalence of

dietary supplement use increased from 14.2% in 1998-1999 to 18.8% in 2002.

Although use did not change among younger subjects, it doubled for men and women

65 years or older. Use of Ginkgo biloba and Panax ginseng declined during the

study, while lutein use increased dramatically, because of its addition to

multivitamin products. The overall 2002 prevalence excluding lutein use was

13.9%.

Conclusions: The popularity of specific supplements has varied over time and

differs according to age and sex. The sharp increase in supplement use in the

1990s appears to have slowed. However, the addition of supplements, such as

lutein and lycopene, to mainstream multivitamins has become an important source

of exposure.

Author Affiliations: Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University School of

Public Health, Boston, Mass.

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