HomeDiseaseAnalysis of COVID-19 Pandemic on Supplement Usage and Its Combination with Self-Medication within the State of Arkansas

Analysis of COVID-19 Pandemic on Supplement Usage and Its Combination with Self-Medication within the State of Arkansas

October 23, 2022

J Diet Suppl. 2022 Sep 30:1-28. doi: 10.1080/19390211.2022.2128500. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that can lead to severe respiratory distress requiring hospitalization and can be fatal. Media have reported that various dietary supplements (DS) or their combination with different medications can prevent infection or decrease disease severity. Here, we analyzed data collected from 15,830 patient follow-up telephone interviews from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences COVID-19 testing sites from March 15 to August 1, 2020. Within the REDCap database, we recorded patient demographics and DS and medication use. In total, data on DS and medication use was available for 8,150 study participants, of whom 21.9% and 4.1% reported using DS or medications, respectively, to either prevent or treat COVID-19. The majority of respondents were female (64%) and non-Hispanic whites (44.5%). Most individuals (64.5%) who took DS were younger than 50 years of age. Products such as vitamin C (1,013, 33.2%), multivitamins (722, 23.6%), and vitamin D (294, 9.6%) were the most commonly used DS among the responders. Analysis of the DS use and symptom scores association did not provide a strong evidence of beneficial health effects of DS. The results of this study demonstrate that a significantly higher proportion of study participants considered usage of DS to mitigate or prevent COVID-19-related symptoms compared to those who preferred medications. However, lack of observable health benefits associated with ingestion of DS suggests that more rigorous research is needed to substantiate the label claims.

PMID:36178162 | DOI:10.1080/19390211.2022.2128500

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About The Author

Patrick Blanchard MD

Meet Dr. Blanchard Dr. Blanchard’s medical practice is an embodiment of Integrative health which brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. Conveniently located in sunny Florida and over the internet with ValiseMD’s secure HIPPA compliant telXmed servers. Since 1994, patients with a wide range of challenging medical problems have achieved optimum health using the best of natural medicine, judiciously combined with high-tech innovations. Breakthroughs are often achieved even after patients have consulted mainstream specialists and holistic practitioners. Dr. Blanchard is founder and CEO of ValiseMD, Inc. He is board certified in Family Medicine since 1994 and awarded Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2001. He received the ‘Teacher of the Year’ award from the University of Kansas School of Medicine at completion of his residency in Family Medicine. He completed a fellowship at Wake Forest University in the field of vascular neurosonology. He holds a medical patent in the field of Gastroenterology. He holds an unrestricted license to practice medicine and surgery in Florida. He started his medical career as a Emergency Medical Technician, then as a Paramedic and later a Medical Doctor.