Prevalence of dietary supplement use in adults with chronic renal insufficiency
Objective
There are currently no studies that have investigated dietary supplement use in the chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) population. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of dietary supplement use in a sample of adults with CRI and to examine whether the prevalence of dietary supplement use was higher in the earlier stages of CRI.
Design and setting
Cross-sectional survey conducted at an outpatient nephrology clinic.
Patients
Adults (n = 100) with varying degrees of CRI.
Intervention
Interview-administered questionnaire.
Main outcome measures
The questionnaire contained questions related to the use of dietary supplements, attitudes, and beliefs about dietary supplements, as well as medical and demographic data including gender, age, body weight, smoking status, concurrent chronic conditions, prescribed medications, serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR), etiology of CRI, income, and education level.
Results
The prevalence of dietary supplement use was 45%, with the most frequent use occurring in subjects with a mild to moderate degree of renal insufficiency. There were no significant differences in gender, age, body mass index, smoking status, number of concurrent chronic conditions, number of prescribed medications, income, or education level between supplement users and supplement nonusers. Further analysis of dietary supplement use showed that the number of supplements used ranged from 1 to 5 or more supplements per day, with an overall total of 36 different supplements. Dietary supplement users were significantly more concerned with their health than were supplement nonusers. The most frequent sources of supplement information were physicians and printed material; however, 75% of the dietary supplement users desired further information about their dietary supplements.
Conclusion
This is the first study to investigate the use of dietary supplements in adults with CRI, and it provides valuable information for health care professionals regarding the dietary supplement use of their patients with CRI.
★London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
†Department of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Address reprint requests to Alison M. Duncan, PhD, RD, Department of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.
ABSTRACT