Ethnic differences in herb and vitamin/mineral use in the elderly.
BACKGROUND
Little information exists on herb and vitamin-mineral supplement use in very old people and whether use varies by ethnicity.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence and predictors of herb and vitamin-mineral supplement use in a tri-ethnic sample of adults aged > or = 77 years.


METHODS
In-home interviews in 1997-1998 assessed medications use and sociodemographic and health factors in community-dwelling elderly non-Hispanic white (n = 125), black (n = 112), and Hispanic (n = 128) adults.


RESULTS
Of the 365 subjects (71.5% > or = 80 y old, 52.6% female), 172 reported using at least one of the preparations (vitamin-mineral supplements 132, herbs alone 21, both herbs and vitamin-mineral supplements 19). Herbal use varied by ethnicity: 12.8% in non-Hispanic whites, 16.1% in blacks, and 4.7% in Hispanics. The most commonly used herbs were garlic, Ginkgo biloba, saw palmetto, and vinegar. Use of vitamin-mineral supplements, alone or combined with herbs, also varied by ethnicity: 54.4% in non-Hispanic whites, 31.3% in blacks, and 37.5% in Hispanics. In the fully adjusted multivariate model with white ethnicity as reference, the odds ratio of vitamin-mineral supplements use for blacks was 0.37 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.65) and for Hispanics was 0.56 (95% CI 0.30 to 1.03). In bivariate analyses, female gender, black ethnicity, being born in the US, and having coronary artery disease were significantly associated with herbal use (p < 0.05); however, in the fully adjusted multivariate model, only the female gender remained significantly associated with herbal use (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.00 to 4.59).


CONCLUSIONS
Use of herbs or vitamin-mineral supplements is common in very old people and varies by ethnicity.
Raji
Mukaila A
MA
Memory Loss Clinics, Sealy Center on Aging, Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0460, USA. muraji@utmb.edu
Kuo
Yong-Fang
YF
Snih
Soham Al
SA
Sharaf
Belal M
BM
Loera
Jose A
JA
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004034:Diet Surveys; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D013781:Texas; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D008903:Minerals; D028321:Plant Preparations; D014815:Vitamins