Use
of Dietary Supplements in the United States, 1988-94
Series
11, No. 244. Use of Dietary Supplements in the United States, 1988-94. View/download PDF 208
KB
This
report presents estimates of the prevalence of use of dietary supplements among the U.S.
population by various demographic and descriptive characteristics, the number of products
taken, and types of supplements taken by broad product type categories.
Approximately 40 percent of the
population took dietary supplements during the month prior to the interview. Females (44
percent) were more likely to take a supplement than males (35 percent). Non-Hispanic
whites persons (43 percent) were more likely to take supplements than non-Hispanic black
persons (30 percent) and Mexican American persons (29 percent). Children between 1 and 5
years of age were major users of supplements, ranging from 42 to 51 percent taking
supplements.
Overall,
Non-Hispanic white persons were more likely to take supplements than non-Hispanic blacks
and Mexican American persons (43 percent vs. 30 and 29 percent, respectively. The same
pattern was true for men as a whole and women as a whole. Non-Hispanic white men in the
age groups between 1 and 29 years of age were more likely to take supplements than either
of the other two-ethnic groups, and non-Hispanic white persons in the age groups between
50 and 69 years of age were more likely to take supplements than non-Hispanic black
persons.
Among adults 20
years of age and older, there was a trend for increasing use of dietary supplements with
age, in both males and females. This trend also held when the data for each sex and
race-ethnic combination were examined. However, for non-Hispanic black males the increase
in supplement use seems just to occur between the 20s and 30s and remains fairly stable at
around 30 percent thereafter.
Supplement use
relative to self-reported health status in adult 20 years of age and older
was also examined. Adults who rated their health status as very good or
excellent were more likely to take supplements (45 percent) than adults who
rated their health as good (39 percent) or fair or poor (39 percent).
Keywords: dietary
supplements; vitamin and mineral supplements; herbal and botanical products; NHANES;
national surveys