Which Types of Dietary Supplements Are Used in Korea? Data from the 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Hyun Ah Park

doi:10.15384/kjhp.2018.18.3.107

Korean J Health Promot > Volume 18(3); 2018 > Article

Park: Which Types of Dietary Supplements Are Used in Korea? Data from the 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Original Article

Korean Journal of Health Promotion 2018;18(3):107-112.

Published online: January 10, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15384/kjhp.2018.18.3.107

Which Types of Dietary Supplements Are Used in Korea? Data from the 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Hyun Ah Park

Department of Family Medicine, Seoul Paik Hospital, University of Inje College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

￭ Corresponding author: Hyun Ah Park, DM, MPH, PhD Department of Family Medicine, Seoul Paik Hospital, University of Inje College of Medicine, 9 Mareunnae-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 04551, Korea
Tel: +82-2-2270-0097, Fax: +82-2-2270-0902 E-mail: drparkhyunah@gmail.com

Received August 08, 2018 Accepted September 25, 2018

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Background

The consumption of dietary supplements is increasing in Korea. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence, types, and trends of dietary supplement (DS) use in Korean adults.

Methods

We analyzed the Nutrition Survey data of Korean aged 19 years old or older from the 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Two thousand and six hundred twenty one men and 3,324 women totaling 5,945 adults were included. The prevalence of DS use was calculated by two methods, i.e., consumption experience of more than two weeks during previous one year and current consumption. Each reported DS in the one day 24 hour recall was coded based on ingredients according to the 2016 Korean Food and Drug Administration Notification.

Results

The prevalence (standard error) of current DS use was 18.4% (1.2) for men, 27.4% (1.1) for women. Those with DS use for longer than two weeks during previous one year were 35.2% (1.5), and 50.4% (1.2), for men and women respectively. Multivitamin mineral supplement (89.6/10³ persons) was the most frequently consumed DS in Korean adults followed by vitamin C (66.2/10³ persons), omega 3 fatty acid (49.5/10³ persons), Panax ginseng (27.3/10³ persons), and probiotics (22.2/10³ persons) in listing.

Conclusions

The trend for DS use in Korean adults is changing as well as increasing. These factors should be considered in patient care.

Keywords: Dietary supplements, Vitamins, Minerals, Fatty acids, Omega-3, Panax ginseng, Probiotics

Figure 1.

Prevalence of dietary supplements use in Korean adults according to sex and age.^a

Figure 2.

The number of dietary supplements used in Korean adults according to sex and age.^a

Table 1.

Prevalence (per 1,000 persons) of dietary supplements usage categories by Korean adults in 2005 and 2015^a

Rank	k Male (2015)	Female (2015)	Total (2015)	Total (2005)
1	Multivitamin mineral supplements (68.8)	Multivitamin mineral supplements (109.8)	Multivitamin mineral supplements (89.6)	Multivitamin mineral supplements (215.1)
2	Vitamin C (55.1)	Vitamin C (77.1)	Vitamin C (66.2)	Glucosamin containing supplements (25.4)
3	Omega 3 fatty acid (39.2)	Omega 3 fatty acid (59.5)	Omega 3 fatty acid (49.5)	Panax ginseng (20.5)
4	Panax ginseng (28.8)	Probiotics (30.2)	Panax ginseng (27.3)	Chlorella/spiriluna (16.1)
5	Probiotics (14.7)	Calcium (29.3)	Probiotics (22.2)	Omega 3 fatty acid (9.5)
6	Vitamin D (7.2)	Panax ginseng (26.0)	Calcium (17.9)	Aloe (7.7)
7	Milk thistle (6.7)	Vitamin D (25.0)	Vitamin D (16.0)	Yeast (5.2)
8	Lutein containing supplemen (6.1)	ts Lutein containing supplemen (15.0)	ts Lutein containing supplemen (10.6)	ts Chitosan (4.3)
9	Calcium (5.3)	Iron (10.1)	Chlorella/spiriluna (6.1)	Protein/amino acids (3.5)
10	Propolis (3.4)	Chlorella/spiriluna (8.8)	Propolis (5.0)	Gamma linolenic acid (2.9)

^aClassification is based mainly on 2008 Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) notification for 2005 data and 2016 KFDA notification for 2015 data.

Table 2.

Prevalence (per 1,000 persons) of dietary supplements usage categories by Korean adults by sex and age groups^a

Rankk	Male			Female
Rankk	18–39 years	40–64 years	Over 65 years	18–39 years	40–64 years	Over 65 years
1	Multivitamin mineral supplements (56.6)	Multivitamin mineral supplements (68.3)	Multivitamin mineral supplements (101.9)	Multivitamin mineral supplements (775.1)	Multivitamin mineral supplements (122.5)	Multivitamin mineral supplements (144.2)
2	Vitamin C (48.3)	Vitamin C (65.6)	Omega 3 fatty acid (83.2)	Vitamin C (63.6)	Vitamin C (92.5)	Omega 3 fatty acid (88.6)
3	Omega 3 fatty acid (20.1)	Omega 3 fatty acid (41.0)	Panax ginseng (49.3)	Probiotics (32.5)	Omega 3 fatty acid (77.7)	Vitamin C (64.4)
4	Panax ginseng (18.7)	Panax ginseng (30.6)	Vitamin C (40.3)	Omega 3 fatty a (20.4)	cid Calcium (35.8)	Calcium (52.1)
5	Probiotics (12.7)	Probiotics (17.5)	Probiotics (11.1)	Iron (16.6)	Panax ginseng (32.6)	Vitamin D (40.0)

^aClassification is based mainly on 2016 Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) notification. Multiple answers up to 9 supplements were allowed.

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