Derms use dietary supplements

Washington - Recently published survey results suggest that when it comes to using dietary supplements, dermatologists are more likely than other specialists to practice more than they preach, PRNewswire-USNewswire reports.

The 2008 “Life … supplemented” Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study found that 75 percent of dermatologists personally use dietary supplements and that 66 percent recommend them to their patients. Meanwhile, 57 percent of cardiologists use dietary supplements and 72 percent recommend them to their patients, while 73 percent of orthopedic specialists use dietary supplements and 91 percent recommend them to patients.

An article analyzing the survey results was published this month in Nutrition Journal, a peer-reviewed, online journal that focuses on human nutrition. Other findings include:

• Multivitamins were the most commonly reported supplement used. Sixty-one percent of dermatologists, 57 percent of orthopedists and 44 percent of cardiologists said they had taken a multivitamin over the pre-survey year.
• Most of the physicians who take supplements said they were longtime users. About half in each specialty said they had taken supplements for four to 10 years, about a third for more than 10 years.
• More than 25 percent of physicians in each specialty said they had used omega 3/fish oil supplements.
• More than 20 percent of each of the three specialty groups said they had taken a botanical supplement during the previous year (green tea was mentioned most frequently).

The online survey was conducted in 2007 among 1,177 healthcare professionals, including 300 primary care physicians, 301 OB/GYNs, 299 other physician specialists and 277 registered nurses and nurse practitioners, according to Nutrition Journal. Each respondent received a nominal honorarium.

The “Life … supplemented” campaign is managed by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the dietary supplement industry’s leading trade association.