Dietary Supplement Use in All United States Military Services
Abstract
A2008 Institute of Medicine report (https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12095/use‐of‐dietary‐supplements‐by‐military‐personnel) noted that there was no clear picture of dietary supplement (DS) use in the military and recommended surveys to examine usage. Our study investigated the prevalence of DS use in the military services and demographic factors associated with use. Surveys were administered to active duty service members (SMs) in the Army (n=1,275), Air Force (AF, n=1,787), Navy (n=700), Marine Corps (MC, n=983) and Coast Guard (CS, n=1,059) located in the United States and overseas. The questionnaire listed both generic and specific DSs and included questions on demographics. Prevalence of use ≥1time/week was calculated and multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between any DS use (dependent variable) and various strata of demographics, with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs)calculated. The overall prevalence of DS use was (%±standard error) 67±1% with use prevalences in the Army, AF, Navy, MC, and CG 59±1%, 66±1%, 71±2% 74±1% and 69±1%, respectively (p2]=1.19, 95%CIs=1.05–1.35), and military service (OR [Marines/Army]=1.72, 95%CIs=1.42–2.09). Thus, DS use among SMs differs based on specific demographics. Compared to the civilian data assessed in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), SMs were much more likely to use DSs and used very different types of DSs, especially for proteins/amino acids and combination products which are often used to purportedly enhance physical performance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.647.1
Entities
People
- Daniel W. Trone
- Emily K. Farina
- Harris R Lieberman
- Joseph J Knapik
- Krista G. Austin
- Ryan A. Steelman
Organizations
- Defense Health Agency
- Naval Health Research Center
- United States Army
- United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine