Use of Herbal Medicine and Other Dietary Supplements in Community-Dwelling Older People: Baseline Data from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study

doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00942.x

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Wiley InterScience

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Volume 54 Issue 11, Pages 1725 - 1735

Published Online: 18 Oct 2006

Journal compilation 2010 The American Geriatrics Society/Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Use of Herbal Medicine and Other Dietary Supplements in Community-Dwelling Older People: Baseline Data from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study

Richard L. Nahin, PhD, MPH ^* , Annette L. Fitzpatrick, PhD ^† , Jeff D. Williamson, MD, MHS ^‡ , Gregory L. Burke, MD, MS ^‡ , Steven T. DeKosky, MD ^§ , and Curt Furberg, MD, PhD ^‡ , for the GEM Study Investigators

From the ^*National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; ^†Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; ^‡Kulynych Center for Memory and Cognition, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and ^§Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Address correspondence to Richard L. Nahin, PhD, MPH, NCCAM, NIH, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bldg. 31, Rm. 2B11, Msc 2182, Bethesda, MD 20892. E-mail: nahinr@mail.nih.gov

KEYWORDS

cross-sectional study • dietary supplements • herbal medicine • elderly

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To analyze baseline data from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) study, in which information was collected on the use of all dietary supplements.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional regression analysis.

SETTING: GEM study sites in California, Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

PARTICIPANTS: The GEM study enrolled 3,072 ambulatory individuals aged 75 and older between September 2000 and June 2002.

MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported use of dietary supplements and use identified through bottles brought to the clinic.

RESULTS: Respectively, 59.4%, 66.6%, and 27.4% of the GEM study cohort used a multivitamin, at least one individual vitamin or mineral supplement, and some type of nonvitamin/nonmineral dietary supplement (NVNMDS). In logistic regression models, multivitamin use was associated with female sex, a higher income, a higher modified Mini-Mental State Examination score, difficulty with mobility, and asthma history; use of any other vitamin or mineral was associated with female sex, white race, nonsmoking, more years of schooling, difficulty walking, a history of osteoporosis, and reading health and senior magazines; and NVNMDS use was associated with residing in California, having difficulties with muscle strength, and reading health and senior magazines.

CONCLUSION: There were substantial differences between individuals who used vitamins and minerals and those who used NVNMDS. These data require that trial investigators pay close attention to participant use of off-protocol dietary supplements. In addition, these findings may help identify elderly individuals likely to combine NVNMDS and prescription drugs.

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00942.x About DOI