The use of dietary supplements and herbal products in the United States has increased dramatically in the last decade. Although alternative medicines receive considerable attention in the press, few details are available about the frequency and use of herbal and other natural products.

In this recent study, researchers sought to determine which dietary supplements people were using and the prevalence of supplement use among adults. Between February 1998 and December 2002, researchers surveyed 8,470 Americans by telephone regarding their demographic information and details of all medicines and dietary supplements they were using. Participants were randomly selected for the survey and were considered to be representative of the U.S. population. The goal of the survey was to determine the weekly prevalence of dietary supplement use, either alone or with other medicines or supplements.

Results of the study revealed that the prevalence of dietary supplement usage has increased from 14.2% in 1998-1999 to 18.8% in 2002. Men and women 65 years or older were twice as likely to use dietary supplements when compared to their younger counterparts. The use of Ginkgo Biloba and Panax Ginseng were found to decline during the study, while the use of Lutein increased significantly because it has been added to many types of multivitamins. Overall, the use of dietary supplements, excluding Lutein was 13.9%.

Researchers concluded that the popularity of various dietary supplements has varied over time and the sharp increase noted in the late 1990s appears to have slowed. However, the addition of supplements such as Lutein and Lycopene to mainstream multivitamins has increased the exposure of herbal supplements. Some dietary supplements may interfere with cancer treatments and all patients with cancer should fully inform their physicians of all the non-prescribed alternative drugs, complimentary medicines or dietary supplements they are taking.