Supplement use, by the numbers
Cited data on how Americans use dietary supplements, drawn from CDC, NHANES, and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Every figure traces back to a public source.
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Dietary Supplement Use Among US Adults (2017-2018)
57.6% of US adults aged 20 and older used at least one dietary supplement in the past 30 days, according to the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Use increased with age and was higher among women than men.
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Dietary Supplement Use by Age Group in the US (2017-2018)
Dietary supplement use among US adults rose from 42.4% in the 20-39 age group to 74.3% among adults aged 60 and older in 2017-2018, based on NHANES data from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
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Dietary Supplement Use by Sex in the US (2017-2018)
Women (63.8%) were significantly more likely than men (50.8%) to use dietary supplements in 2017-2018, according to NHANES data. The gap held across all age groups studied, with older women showing the highest use rate at 80.2%.
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Multivitamin Supplement Use in the US: Prevalence Data
About one-third of US adults currently take a multivitamin or multivitamin-mineral supplement. In 2017-2018 NHANES data, multivitamin-mineral use ranged from 24.0% among adults aged 20-39 to 39.4% among those aged 60 and older, with women reporting higher use than men at every age.
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Omega-3 and Fish Oil Supplement Use in the US: Prevalence Data
7.8% of US adults used supplements containing fish oil, omega-3s, DHA, or EPA in 2012, according to the National Health Interview Survey. In 2017-2018 NHANES data, omega-3 supplement use ranged from 5.4% among adults aged 20-39 to 21.8% among those aged 60 and older.
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Vitamin D Supplement Use in the US: Prevalence by Age
Vitamin D supplement use among US adults ranges from 6.7% in the 20-39 age group to 36.9% among adults aged 60 and older, based on 2017-2018 NHANES data. A 2015-2016 analysis found 28% of all individuals aged 2 and older used a supplement containing vitamin D.
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