Physician supplement use matches general population levels: Survey

Commissioned by the supplement trade group Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and published in the peer-reviewed Nutrition Journal​, the Healthcare Professionals 2008 Impact Study (HCP Impact Study) surveyed 900 physicians, including 300 cardiologists, dermatologists, and orthopedists.

“The HCP Impact Study shows that physician specialists are very likely to use dietary supplements (57 to 75%) and also shows that most of them may recommend dietary supplements to their patients (66 to 91%),”​ wrote the authors.

“Their reasons for recommending dietary supplements are related to their specialty and differ from their reasons for using dietary supplements themselves.”​

The numbers are inline with previous surveys from the same team, with 2007 data​ presented in the same journal indicating that 72% of physicians used dietary supplements and 79% further recommend them to their patients.

Break down​

The new survey breaks the profession down into specialties, with cardiologists the least likely to use supplements and the least likely to recommend the supplements.

While 75% of dermatologists and 73% of orthopedists reported to use dietary supplements at least occasionally, the figure for cardiologists was 57%.

Regular use was reported by 59% of dermatologists, and 50% of orthopedists, and 37% of cardiologists, report Authors Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., past president of CRN and now with Dickinson Consulting, LLC, Andrew Shao, Ph.D., former VP of scientific and regulatory affairs at CRn and now with Herbalife, and Nicolas Boyon and Julio Franco from Ipsos Public Affairs, who conducted the Study on behalf of CRN.

“The prevalence of regular dietary supplement use reported by dermatologists and orthopedists in this survey (59% and 50%, respectively) was similar to the prevalence of use reported among adults in NHANES 1999-2000 and NHANES 2003-2006, where 52% and 54% of adults surveyed said they had taken supplements in the past month,”​ explained the researchers.

The most commonly used supplements were multivitamins, and “over 25% in each specialty said they used omega-3 fatty acids and over 20% said they used some botanical supplements”​, wrote the authors.

Recommendations​

While cardiologists were the least likely to occasionally or regularly use supplements, they were more likely to recommend dietary supplements to their patients, with 72% of the heart doctors surveyed reporting to recommend supplements. ‘Heart health’ or ‘cholesterol lowering’ were listed as the most likely reasons for the recommendations.

In addition, a whopping 91% of orthopedists (for skin, hair and nail benefits) and 66% of dermatologists (for bone and joint health) reported recommending supplements to their patients.

Educational gap​

Despite the majority of physicians using and recommending supplements, the survey revealed that “most physicians […] indicated that they had not received any formal education or training on the subject of dietary supplements and expressed an interest in Continuing Education regarding these products. ​

“There is a need for expanded medical education regarding the general topic of nutrition as well as the more specific topic of dietary supplements,”​ concluded Dickinson and her co-workers.

Appreciated work​

Commenting on the survey’s findings, Cara Welch, PhD, VP of scientific & regulatory affairs at the Natural Products Association, said NPA “appreciates the work that each association does to promote the dietary supplement industry and I agree with the conclusion of this article, even more education on the health effects of dietary supplementation is needed both among the medical community and consumers. ​

“I’m pleased to see the results of this 2008 survey enforce the message NPA and the industry has been sending that supplement use is valuable for so many people; we see specifically that the majority of physician specialists recognize the benefits of dietary supplements for their patient groups.”​

Harry Rice, PhD, VP of regulatory & scientific affairs for the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) and the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED), told NutraIngredients-USA.com: "While it's encouraging that mainstream physicians are talking to their patients about dietary supplements, not to mention recommending them, the present results suggest that there are opportunities for the industry to provide outreach to physicians, not to mention consumers, about the benefits of taking dietary supplements as part of a healthy lifestyle. ​

"For example, 80% of cardiologists reported having patients asking about omega-3/fish oil. Given the compelling cardiovascular benefits associated with long-chain omega-3 rich oils, the percent should be closer to 100. ​

"In addition, for those patients not inquiring, doctors should be raising the issue. This may have occurred, but not captured by the survey. It's in everyone's best interest for industry to spend more time proactively communicating about the positive benefits of dietary supplements as opposed to reacting to unfounded criticism."​

Source: Nutrition Journal​
2011, 10​:20, doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-10-20
“Use of dietary supplements by cardiologists, dermatologists and orthopedists: report of a survey”​​
Authors: A. Dickinson, A. Shao, N. Boyon, J.C. Franco