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With mainstream use of dietary supplements in the U.S. -- more than 150million Americans take them each year -- the 2007 "Life ... supplemented" HCPImpact Study on dietary supplements was designed to evaluate the personalattitudes and use of dietary supplements by physicians and nurses and todetermine if those factors impact whether they recommend supplements for theirpatients. The study was sponsored by the "Life ... supplemented" consumerwellness campaign, which is managed by the Council for Responsible Nutrition.
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Who Recommends Supplements? Of the 72 percent of physicians who usesupplements, 85 percent also recommend them to their patients; and of the 28percent of physicians who do not use supplements, three out of five(62 percent) still recommend them.
"It is common sense that physicians who personally take supplements alsorecommend them to their patients," said Donnica Moore, M.D., president of theSapphire Women's Health Group and a member of the study's physician advisorteam.* She added, "It's interesting that the majority of physicians who don'tuse supplements still recognize their patients may benefit from them.Although the study doesn't provide an explanation, it may simply be thatphysicians recommend supplements to their patients for specific conditionsthat don't apply to the physician's own personal health."
Should Physicians Recommend More Supplements? The number of physiciansrecommending dietary supplements to their patients is highest amongobstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) (91 percent), followed by primary carephysicians (84 percent). In addition, the study shows that almost threequarters of physicians (72 percent) and more than three quarters of nurses (88percent) say it is a good idea for patients to take a multivitamin.
The study found that almost half of physicians and nurses who takesupplements most often do so for "overall health/wellness benefits," while 41percent of physicians and 62 percent of nurses who recommend supplements mostoften do so for the same reasons. Primary care physicians, OB/GYNs and nursesrecommend supplements as often for "general well-being/prevention" as they dofor special conditions, while other specialists recommend supplements moreoften for special conditions.
According to Dr. Moore, "It makes sense to me that OB/GYNs are the groupmost likely to recommend supplements, although I am concerned that not allOB/GYNs reported they recommend them for their prenatal patients, given thatwomen's health -- especially prenatal -- is one arena where the datasupporting supplement use is overwhelmingly positive."
Among the physicians surveyed, 51 percent use dietary supplementsregularly, 19 percent use them occasionally and two percent use themseasonally. Among nurses, 59 percent use them regularly, 27 percent use themoccasionally and 3 percent use them seasonally.
Initiating the Discussion. "Given the current state of the science, it isnot surprising that increasing numbers of healthcare professionals areincorporating dietary supplements into their personal health routines.However, the fact that only 25 percent of physicians actively counsel patientsregarding their dietary supplement use demonstrates an on-going and concerningproblem that requires more outreach and education," said Tieraona Low Dog,M.D, direc
