Dietary Supplement Safety Information in Magazines Popular among Older Readers

Published in Volume 7, Number 1 of the Journal of Health Communication, this 11-page report presents an analysis of dietary supplement safety information in articles published between 1994 and 1998 in 10 major magazines popular among older readers in the United States. It is motivated by the fact that dietary supplements are extensively used in that country (a 2000 study found that at least 40% of American adults take dietary supplements), especially by people aged 50 years and over. Furthermore, it appears that magazines and other news media are an important source of information about nutrition and dietary supplements for the American public; in a national survey published in 2000, 48% of respondents cited television as one of their top sources of nutrition information, 47% cited magazines, and 18% cited newspapers. In another national survey, 37% of supplement users age 50 and over said that "ads or articles" were their source of information about the supplements they were currently taking.

The authors examined 254 magazine articles in an effort to assess whether and to what extent information in the mass media appropriately addressed the potential health hazards posed by dietary supplements (which can be advisable for many older adults, but harmful if taken in excess - or problematic if used in combination with certain prescription drugs). Among the findings:

• More than two-thirds of the articles did not include comprehensive information about safety aspects (e.g., maximum safe doses and drug-supplement interactions) of the dietary supplements that were discussed. A lack of information was found even in otherwise well-researched articles.
• A total of 2,983 advertisements for more than 130 different types of supplements were published in the magazines surveyed. The number of advertisements per year increased between 1995 and 1998. Supplements of particular interest to older adults (such as antioxidants, calcium, garlic, ginkgo biloba, joint health products, liquid oral supplements, and multivitamins) were among the most frequently advertised products.

The authors conclude that, "Although magazines popular among older readers contain extensive information about dietary supplements, these publications cannot be relied upon to provide readers with all of the information that they need in order to use supplements safely." Many consumers do not take advantage of the information about supplement safety that they could glean through conversation with their health care provider; in other cases, though, "health professionals may not know enough about these products to counsel patients adequately."

In closing, the authors stress that "An organized effort to provide American consumers with systematic information about the safety of dietary supplements is urgently needed. Better labeling of these products would be a step in the right direction, and the increased availability of continuing education programs about dietary supplements for health professionals would also be helpful. At the present time, however, people who use dietary supplements have to piece together information from a variety of sources in order to learn the facts that they need to use these products safely. It would be unwise for people to rely on articles in magazines as their sole guide to supplement safety..."