title: Herbal and vitamin/mineral supplement use by retirement community residents: preliminary findings.
abstract: A survey questionnaire assessed supplement use by free-living residents of a retirement community. Of the 318 respondents (mean age 82.2 years), 20% of women and 20% of men reported using herbal supplements, with 62% of these using them at least once per week. Most herbal supplements users (97%) also used vitamin/mineral supplements. Sixty-eight percent of herbal supplement users felt very much/somewhat informed about taking the supplements. Forty-four percent, however, were not sure whether there was testing before marketing; 33% were not sure about side effects. Half (52%) relied "very much/somewhat" on doctors/nurses as information sources; 40% relied on dietitians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Food Management at Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-5103, USA.
authors.forename: Yao-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raab
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Georgiou
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dunton
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004034:Diet Surveys; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D029001:Herbal Medicine; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012179:Retirement; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D008903:Minerals; D028321:Plant Preparations; D014815:Vitamins