Dietary supplementation is more prevalent among adults with arthritis in the United States population.

OBJECTIVES: Sparse data are available to describe the prevalence of dietary supplementation among individuals with arthritis. Using a nationally representative sample, this investigation assessed the prevalence of dietary supplement use among Americans self-reporting arthritis.

SETTING AND DESIGN: Data from 4606 participants of the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed, including from 1170 participants self-reporting arthritis. Participants reported dietary supplementation over the past 30days.

RESULTS: Approximately 62.5% of adults with arthritis reported taking at least one dietary supplement, which was greater than the 49.0% among individuals without arthritis (P<0.001). Arthritis was not independently associated with higher odds of supplement use (odds ratio=1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.88-1.42) in a multivariate logistic regression model. Among individuals with arthritis, supplement use was more prevalent in older adults (≥50 years), non-Hispanic whites, those with greater education, and those with health insurance. Among 721 participants with arthritis that were taking at least one supplement, 15.1% (95% CI=12.8-17.8%) indicated at least one of their supplements was 'for healthy joints, arthritis', compared to only 7.7% (95% CI=6.4-9.3%) of participants without arthritis (P<0.001). Glucosamine and/or chondroitin were the most common types of supplements used to improve joint health in arthritis.

CONCLUSIONS: Given that roughly three out of five individuals with arthritis regularly use dietary supplements, health practitioners should be prepared to discuss potential benefits and risks of supplementation for the management of pain and function in arthritis.