Abstract
BACKGROUND
Use of dietary supplements (DS) is common in the United States; however little is known about the use of DS specifically in hospitalized patients.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study is to begin to characterize trends in DS use by hospitalized patients and to assess the degree of patient–physician communication about use of DS that occurs during hospitalization.
DESIGN
This is a cross-sectional, observational pilot study.
PARTICIPANTS
Participants were admitted to the general internal medicine or geriatrics service by house staff residents; those ≥ 18 years of age who were medically stable, cognitively intact and fluent in English and/or Spanish were invited to participate in the study.
RESULTS
Nearly 80% of hospitalized patients reported use of DS, with 52% reporting use of non-vitamin/non-mineral DS. During the admission process, physicians documented inquiring about DS use only 20% of the time. While the majority of patients had no concern about temporarily discontinuing their DS during hospitalization, 13% of patients reported that they believed there was nothing wrong with continued use of DS while hospitalized regardless of the recommendations provided by their inpatient physicians.
CONCLUSIONS
Use of DS in hospitalized patients is common, and communication between patients and physicians regarding their use is limited.
References
Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. Adv Data. 2004;343:1–19.
Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL, Appel S, Wilkey S, Van Rompay M, Kessler RC. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990–1997: results of a follow-up national survey. Jama. 1998;280(18):1569–75.
Robinson A, McGrail MR. Disclosure of CAM use to medical practitioners: a review of qualitative and quantitative studies. Complement Ther Med. 2004;12(2–3):90–8.
Adler SR, Fosket JR. Disclosing complementary and alternative medicine use in the medical encounter: a qualitative study in women with breast cancer. J Fam Pract. 1999;48(6):453–8.
Jazieh AR, Kopp M, Foraida M, Ghouse M, Khalil M, Savidge M, Sethuraman G. The use of dietary supplements by veterans with cancer. J Altern Complement Med. 2004;10(3):560–4.
Gardiner P, Graham RE, Legedza AT, Eisenberg DM, Phillips RS. Factors associated with dietary supplement use among prescription medication users. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(18):1968–74.
Wold RS, Lopez ST, Yau CL, Butler LM, Pareo-Tubbeh SL, Waters DL, Garry PJ, Baumgartner RN. Increasing trends in elderly persons’ use of nonvitamin, nonmineral dietary supplements and concurrent use of medications. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105(1):54–63.
Kelly JP, Kaufman DW, Kelley K, Rosenberg L, Anderson TE, Mitchell AA. Recent trends in use of herbal and other natural products. Arch Intern Med. 2005;165(3):281–6.
Goldstein LH, Elias M, Ron-Avraham G, Biniaurishvili BZ, Madjar M, Kamargash I, Braunstein R, Berkovitch M, Golik A. Consumption of herbal remedies and dietary supplements amongst patients hospitalized in medical wards. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2007;64(3):373–80.
Roman SH, Chassin MR. Windows of opportunity to improve diabetes care when patients with diabetes are hospitalized for other conditions. Diabetes Care. 2001;24(8):1371–6.
Comprehensive accreditation manual for hospitals. Medication management standards. Oakbrook Terrace, IL: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2004.
Boyer E. Issues in the management of dietary supplement use among hospitalized patients. J Med Toxicol. 2005;1(1):30–4.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Gloria Suarez, MBA, for her dedicated assistance in interviewing the subjects and collecting data for this study.
This project was funded through a grant from the North Carolina Academic Alliance for Integrative Medicine.
Conflict of Interest
None disclosed.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Young, L.A., Faurot, K.R. & Gaylord, S.A. Use of and Communication about Dietary Supplements Among Hospitalized Patients. J GEN INTERN MED 24, 366–369 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-008-0890-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-008-0890-8