Drugs Combined WIth Supplements Generate Few Severe Adverse Reactions

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By VRP Staff

A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that in most cases, people who take dietary supplements together with prescription medications do not experience serious adverse reactions and that the adverse reactions that do occur are usually mild.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh surveyed 458 outpatients visiting general medicine clinics at two veterans affairs medical centers located in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. All of the subjects were taking pharmaceutical medications, with an average of seven medications per patient in Pittsburgh and six pharmaceutical medications per patient in LA.

The researchers asked the subjects if they were taking or had taken in the past Chondroitin, Coenzyme Q10, DHEA, Echinacea, Garlic, Ginkgo biloba, Ginseng, Glucosamine, Melatonin, Saw Palmetto, St. Johns Wort or vitamins and minerals. Of the 458 patients, 197 or 43 percent reported taking at least one dietary supplement per day. The average consumption was three dietary supplements per day.

The study authors determined the self-reported dietary supplement use and noted which prescription medications the subjects were taking. They then identified potential interactions that could occur when taking these dietary supplements together with prescription medication. Forty-eight percent of the Pittsburgh dietary supplement consumers and 43 percent of the Los Angeles supplement consumers experienced potential drug-dietary supplement interactions. One or two possible drug-dietary supplement interactions occurred in the majority of the patients. Seven Pittsburgh subjects and 12 in Los Angeles experienced more than three potential drug-dietary supplement interactions. However, most of these reactions were not serious.

Reference:
Peng CC, Glassman PA, Trilli LE, Hayes-Hunter J, Good CB. Incidence and Severity of Potential Drug�Dietary Supplement Interactions in Primary Care Patients. Arch Intern Med. 2004;164 (6):630-636.

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