Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Malaysia.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021 Apr 1;21(1):110. doi: 10.1186/s12906-021-03287-1.
The use of herbal and dietary supplement (HDS) in health and disease management has gained global attention. HDS are generally accepted by the public and are associated with positive health behaviours. However, several reports have been documented with regards to their potential adverse effects and interaction with conventional medicines. Limited data is currently available on the use of HDS among elderly population in Malaysia. This present study aims to investigate the prevalence of and pattern of HDS use among a sample of community-dwelling elderly in a suburban town in Malaysia.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and May 2019 among the elderly aged ≥60 years old. The participants with the following criteria were included in the study: aged ≥60 years, residing in Puncak Alam and able to understand Malay or English language. Data were collected using a pre-validated questionnaire. All statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 23.
Overall, 336 out of 400 elderly responded to the survey, achieving a response rate of 84%. This study observed that almost 50% of the respondents were using at least one type of HDS in the past one month of the survey. Among HDS non-users, most of them preferred to use modern medicines (62.6%, 114/182). Among the HDS users, 75.3% (116/154) were using at least one type of modern medicine (prescription or over-the-counter medicine). Multivariate analysis showed that having good to excellent perceived health (adjusted OR = 2.666, 95% CI = 1.592-4.464), having felt sick at least once in the past one month (adjusted OR = 2.500, 95% CI = 1.426-4.383), and lower body mass index (adjusted OR = 0.937, 95% CI = 0.887-0.990) were associated with HDS use. It was noted that only a small percentage of HDS users (16.2%, 25/154) had informed healthcare providers on their HDS use.
The use of HDS is common among the elderly sampled. Hence, healthcare providers should be more vigilant in seeking information of HDS use for disease management in their elderly patients. Campaigns that provide accurate information regarding the appropriate use of HDS among the elderly are pertinent to prevent misinformation of the products.
草药和膳食补充剂（HDS）在健康和疾病管理中的应用引起了全球关注。HDS 普遍被公众接受，并与积极的健康行为相关。然而，有几篇报道记录了它们可能产生的副作用以及与传统药物的相互作用。目前，马来西亚关于老年人使用 HDS 的数据有限。本研究旨在调查马来西亚一个郊区城镇社区老年人样本中 HDS 使用的流行率和模式。
2019 年 3 月至 5 月期间，对年龄≥60 岁的老年人进行了横断面调查。符合以下标准的参与者被纳入研究：年龄≥60 岁，居住在普纳卡兰，能够理解马来语或英语。使用预先验证的问卷收集数据。所有统计分析均使用 IBM SPSS 版本 23 进行。
在 400 名老年人中，共有 336 名（84%）对调查做出了回应。本研究观察到，在过去一个月的调查中，近 50%的受访者至少使用过一种 HDS。在 HDS 非使用者中，大多数人更喜欢使用现代药物（62.6%，114/182）。在 HDS 使用者中，75.3%（116/154）至少使用过一种现代药物（处方药或非处方药）。多变量分析显示，自我感知健康状况良好到优秀（调整后的 OR=2.666，95%CI=1.592-4.464）、过去一个月至少生病一次（调整后的 OR=2.500，95%CI=1.426-4.383）和较低的体重指数（调整后的 OR=0.937，95%CI=0.887-0.990）与 HDS 使用相关。值得注意的是，只有一小部分 HDS 用户（16.2%，25/154）告知了医疗保健提供者他们使用 HDS 的情况。
在所抽取的老年人中，HDS 的使用较为普遍。因此，医疗保健提供者在管理老年患者疾病时，应更加警惕地了解 HDS 使用情况。开展宣传活动，为老年人提供有关 HDS 正确使用的准确信息，对于防止产品信息错误传播至关重要。
