Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Clin Ther. 2011 Nov;33(11):1749-58. doi: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2011.09.024. Epub 2011 Oct 26.
Past national surveys indicate that use of herbs and dietary supplements rose rapidly in the United States during the 1990s and early 2000s. Additional research is needed to determine whether this growth rate and associated patterns of use have persisted over time.
The objectives of this study were: (1) to assess population and subpopulation changes in rates of herb and supplement use; and (2) to assess changes in rates of disclosure of herb and supplement use to conventional medical providers.
This study used data from the 2002 (n = 30,427) and 2007 (n = 22,657) Adult Complementary and Alternative Medicine File to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Weighted group and subgroup comparisons used the Wald χ(2) tests to compare differences in herb and supplement use between 2002 and 2007.
The number of adults in the United States that ever used herbs or supplements grew slightly, from 50.6 million in 2002 to 55.1 million in 2007. However, the proportion of adults who reported use of herbs or supplements in the past 12 months dropped significantly: from 18.9% in 2002 to 17.9% in 2007 (P < 0.05). Subpopulation comparisons revealed that younger adults were less likely to use herbs and supplements in 2007 (17.6%) than in 2002 (20.0%), whereas older adults (ie, those aged ≥65 years) were more likely to do so (19.5% in 2007 vs. 13.2% in 2002). Racial and ethnic minorities also reported a significant decline in recent use. The proportion of respondents that disclosed herb or supplement use to their physician or another conventional medical professional rose, from 33.4% in 2002 to 45.4% in 2007. However, <1% of recent herb and supplement users disclosed this use to their pharmacist. Limitations of this research are that the 2 national data sets were not directly comparable and that questionnaires in the 2 surveys assessed were not identical.
Herbal preparations and dietary supplements remain popular in the United States, but the user population and patterns of use are changing. Ongoing surveillance of this health behavior is a public health priority.
过去的全国性调查表明，在美国，20 世纪 90 年代至 21 世纪初，草药和膳食补充剂的使用迅速增加。需要进一步的研究来确定这种增长速度和相关使用模式是否持续存在。
本研究的目的是：（1）评估草药和补充剂使用率的人群和亚人群变化；（2）评估向常规医疗提供者披露草药和补充剂使用情况的变化率。
本研究使用了 2002 年（n=30427）和 2007 年（n=22657）《成人补充和替代医学档案》对全国健康访谈调查（NHIS）的数据。使用 Wald χ(2)检验对 2002 年和 2007 年的草药和补充剂使用进行了加权组和亚组比较。
美国使用过草药或补充剂的成年人数量略有增加，从 2002 年的 5060 万人增加到 2007 年的 5510 万人。然而，报告在过去 12 个月内使用草药或补充剂的成年人比例显著下降：从 2002 年的 18.9%降至 2007 年的 17.9%（P<0.05）。亚人群比较显示，年轻成年人在 2007 年（17.6%）比 2002 年（20.0%）更不可能使用草药和补充剂，而老年成年人（即 65 岁及以上）更有可能这样做（2007 年 19.5%比 2002 年 13.2%）。少数族裔也报告最近使用率显著下降。向医生或其他常规医疗专业人员透露草药或补充剂使用情况的受访者比例从 2002 年的 33.4%上升到 2007 年的 45.4%。然而，<1%的最近使用草药和补充剂的人向药剂师透露了这一情况。本研究的局限性在于，这两个国家数据集无法直接比较，而且两个调查中的问卷并不完全相同。
草药制剂和膳食补充剂在美国仍然很受欢迎，但用户人群和使用模式正在发生变化。对这种健康行为的持续监测是公共卫生的重点。
