The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the release of the fifth issue of the Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplement Research. This publication presents significant research in the dietary supplement field for the year 2003.

"Each year, over the past five years, the Office has engaged in a process of identifying exemplary papers on dietary supplements and disseminating this information to researchers, health professionals, and consumers," said Paul M. Coates, Ph.D., Director of ODS. "Interest and use of dietary supplements continues to be prevalent in the United States population, and this bibliography provides an excellent opportunity to give well-deserved recognition to those scientists conducting scientific research on these products."

For the 2003 issue of the Annual Bibliography, there were over 300 original research articles nominated from 34 peer-reviewed journals. An international team of 45 expert reviewers in the fields of nutrition and botanical sciences and public health reviewed and ranked the articles. The top 25 articles were selected for publication.

The articles for the 2003 bibliography included research in the following areas:

• Supplements and Bone Health
• Supplements and Cancer
• Supplements and Cardiovascular Health
• Supplements and Inflammation
• Supplements and Early Development

The 2003 Bibliography includes an index of citations of papers from the 2002 and 2001 Annual Bibliographies. This feature, introduced with the 2001 issue, allows the reader to see developments in dietary supplement research over the last three years.

"Listing previous year's citations in each issue provides a snap-shot of the science for that year," said Leila Saldanha, Ph.D., R.D., co-editor of the publication. "In this year's issue, we grouped the papers by health condition rather than by ingredient, as many of the papers fell into the three major health categories afflicting people, i.e. bone health, cardiovascular disease, and cancer".

"We envision that this bibliography will serve as a useful reference source for students, nutrition and health professionals, educators, and health communicators, as well as the scientists who conduct the research," said Rebecca B. Costello, Ph.D., Deputy Director of ODS. The Annual Bibliography citations are also highlighted in the IBIDS (International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements Database) for ease of identification, available on the ODS website. This year's issue was launched at the 2004 annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association in Anaheim, California.

Copies of the fifth Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplement Research may be downloaded from the ODS website at http://ods.od.nih.gov/Research/Annual_Bibliographies.aspx.

Single copies may also be requested from ODS by phone (301-435-2920) or email (ods@nih.gov).

For additional information about ODS, please visit http://ods.od.nih.gov.

The Office of the Director is the central office at NIH, and is responsible for setting policy for NIH and for planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all the NIH components. The NIH is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.