Vitamin-mineral supplement use among US women, 2000.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence of vitamin-mineral supplement use and its association with sociodemographic, health status, and health behavior characteristics in a nationally representative sample of US women.


METHODS
We analyzed the cancer supplement file of the 2000 National Health Interview Survey, which included 11,888 non-Hispanic white, 2866 non-Hispanic black, 3035 Hispanic, and 599 non-Hispanic other women. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between sociodemographic, health status, and health behavior characteristics and the use of selected vitamin-mineral supplements.


RESULTS
Nearly 60% of US women took at least one supplement in 2000. Logistic regression showed that women who were non-Hispanic white, married, older, more educated, not poor, former smokers, alcohol users, and regular exercisers were significantly more likely to take the most commonly reported vitamin-mineral supplements. Women who were obese or overweight and women who had not had contact with a health professional in the past 12 months were less likely to use supplements.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study suggests high levels of vitamin-mineral supplement use among US women. Supplement use was generally associated with a healthier lifestyle and more resources. Our data suggest the need for public health education on the benefits of age- and health-appropriate use of supplements.
Yu
Stella M
SM
Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Office of Data and Information Management, Rockville, MD 20857, USA. syu@hrsa.gov
Kogan
Michael D
MD
Huang
Zhihuan J
ZJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002118:Calcium / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D014481:United States; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D014815:Vitamins; D002118:Calcium