Hyun Ah Park

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


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. Multi-vitamin 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. Korean J Health Promot 2018;18(3):107-112

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