Age and gender effect on the use of herbal medicine products and food supplements among the elderly

Objective. To describe the users of herbal medicine products and food supplements with regard to age and gender specifically among persons aged >= 60 years. Design. A descriptive study with baseline data from a longitudinal study of the elderly, stratified into different age cohorts ( 60 - 69, 70 - 79, 80 - 89, and >= 90 years). Setting. Blekinge county, situated in southeastern Sweden. Subjects. In total 1380 persons aged 60 - 96 years ( median age 78 years). Main outcome measures. Current use of herbal medicine products and the use of food supplements. Results. Of the participants, 264/1380 (19.1%) used at least one herbal medicine product, 184/1380 (13.3%) used at least one food supplement and 382/1380 (27.7%) used herbal medicine products and/or food supplements. In all regression models, women had a higher probability of using herbal medicine and/or food supplements in comparison with men. Focusing on the use of herbal medicine products alone and the combination of using herbal medicine and/or food supplements, decreased use was seen with increasing age. However, 27.9% were still users of herbal medicine products and/or food supplements in the age group 80 - 89 years. In comparison, 14% were users in the age group >= 90 years. Age did not have an impact on the probability of taking food supplements. Conclusion. General practitioners need to consider the high use of herbal medicine products and food supplements among the elderly when making decisions on treatment.