Medical Support Center for the Japan Environment and Children's Study, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan.
Department of Social and Preventive Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8654, Japan.
Environ Health Prev Med. 2021 Jun 5;26(1):63. doi: 10.1186/s12199-021-00985-7.
A variety of dietary supplements are commercially available. However, the efficacy and safety of dietary supplement use in children are not well established. Understanding dietary supplement use is important for developing public health policy regarding dietary supplements. This study aimed to investigate the types of dietary supplements used and characteristics of dietary supplement users among Japanese elementary school children.
We conducted a cross-sectional web-based questionnaire study. Dietary supplement use, socio-demographics, and health-related behaviors were assessed through mother-reported questionnaire. Types of dietary supplements were identified based on ingredient using product barcodes and brand names. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the socio-demographics and health-related behaviors associated with supplement use.
Among 4933 children, 333 (6.8%) were identified as dietary supplement users. The most common supplement was amino acids or protein (1.4%), followed by n-3 fatty acids or fish oil (1.0%), probiotics (1.0%), multivitamins (0.9%), multivitamin-minerals (0.8%), and botanicals (0.8%). Overall, any dietary supplement use was significantly associated with the highest frequency of sports participation (odds ratio [OR], 2.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65-4.02), highest household income (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.13-3.10), highest maternal educational level (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.31-2.52), and male sex (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.09-1.75). The highest frequency of sports participation was significantly associated with higher odds of use of amino acids or protein (OR, 6.06; 95% CI, 1.78-20.6) and multivitamins (OR, 3.56; 95% CI, 1.11-11.5), compared to the lowest frequency of sports participation.
This study showed that Japanese children primarily use non-vitamin, non-mineral supplements. Non-vitamin, non-mineral supplements should thus be included in future studies aimed at monitoring dietary supplement use. We also found that dietary supplement use in children was associated with sports participation. Guidelines for dietary supplement use for children, in particular sport participants, are needed.
市场上有多种膳食补充剂。然而，儿童使用膳食补充剂的疗效和安全性尚未得到充分证实。了解膳食补充剂的使用情况对于制定有关膳食补充剂的公共卫生政策很重要。本研究旨在调查日本小学生使用的膳食补充剂类型和使用者的特征。
我们进行了一项基于网络的横断面问卷调查研究。通过母亲报告的问卷评估膳食补充剂的使用情况、社会人口统计学特征和与健康相关的行为。根据成分使用产品条码和品牌名称确定膳食补充剂的类型。采用多变量逻辑回归分析调查与补充剂使用相关的社会人口统计学特征和与健康相关的行为。
在 4933 名儿童中，有 333 名（6.8%）被确定为膳食补充剂使用者。最常见的补充剂是氨基酸或蛋白质（1.4%），其次是 n-3 脂肪酸或鱼油（1.0%）、益生菌（1.0%）、多种维生素（0.9%）、多种维生素-矿物质（0.8%）和植物药（0.8%）。总体而言，任何膳食补充剂的使用均与最高运动参与频率显著相关（比值比[OR]，2.58；95%置信区间[CI]，1.65-4.02）、最高家庭收入（OR，1.87；95%CI，1.13-3.10）、最高母亲教育程度（OR，1.82；95%CI，1.31-2.52）和男性（OR，1.38；95%CI，1.09-1.75）。最高运动参与频率与更高的使用氨基酸或蛋白质（OR，6.06；95%CI，1.78-20.6）和多种维生素（OR，3.56；95%CI，1.11-11.5）的几率显著相关，而最低运动参与频率则无此关联。
本研究表明，日本儿童主要使用非维生素、非矿物质补充剂。因此，在未来监测膳食补充剂使用情况的研究中应包括非维生素、非矿物质补充剂。我们还发现，儿童使用膳食补充剂与运动参与有关。需要为儿童，特别是运动参与者制定膳食补充剂使用指南。
