I am wondering if doctors are more likely or less likely than the
general public to use vitamin supplements.  One person I know thinks
that doctors realize that these supplements are not necessary, so they
are less likely to take vitamins.  But my friend disagrees with him
and thinks doctors are more likely to take vitamins.  I am interested
in any studies done that address this question.  Multivitamin
supplements are most relevent to the question, but certainly single
vitamin supplements are interesting as well.  Who is right?

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 16 Jun 2005 09:48 PDT

Please let me know whether or not this would provide a fully
satisfactory answer to your question:

"The prevalence of supplement use is relatively high among health
professionals, including doctors, dietitians, and pharmacists. This is
a further indication that supplement use is strongly associated with
increased knowledge about nutrition and health. Although medical
schools put little emphasis on nutrition, physicians who are provided
with information about nutrition can readily see its potential
importance to disease prevention, and efforts are under way to
facilitate the development of nutrition courses in more medical
schools. (NRC 1985, Cooksey 2000) A survey of 4501 female physicians
participating in the Women Physicians? Health Study found that half of
them took a multivitamin-mineral supplement. Those at high risk of
heart disease were more likely to use antioxidant supplements, and
'those with a history of osteoporosis were nearly 3 times as likely as
those with no history to take supplemental calcium regularly.' (Frank
2000)

A survey of 181 cardiologists revealed that 44 percent were routinely
taking antioxidant vitamins. Among the supplement users, 90 percent
were taking vitamin E, three out of From The Benefits of Nutritional
Supplements, Copyright © 2002 Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)
four were taking vitamin C, and less than half were taking
beta-carotene. Although 44 percent of the cardiologists used
antioxidants themselves, 'a somewhat smaller percentage (37%)
recommended antioxidants routinely to their patients.' (Mehta 1997) A
survey of 676 dietetic interns and 68 directors of internship programs
found that 53 percent of the directors and 43 percent of the interns
used vitamin or mineral supplements frequently or daily. An additional
16 to18 percent used vitamin or mineral supplements occasionally. (Box
2001) These usage levels are comparable to those found in a much
earlier survey of 665 dietitians in Washington State, showing that
nearly 60 percent of the dietitians surveyed used some nutritional
supplement, either daily or occasionally. (Worthington-Roberts 1984)"

Council for Responsible Nutrition
http://www.crnusa.org/benpdfs/CRN011benefits_whovms.pdf

---

Clarification of Question by fso-ga on 16 Jun 2005 13:10 PDT

That looks good to me.  Thanks!

Thank you for accepting my findings as your official answer. I've
reposted the material below.

"The prevalence of supplement use is relatively high among health
professionals, including doctors, dietitians, and pharmacists. This is
a further indication that supplement use is strongly associated with
increased knowledge about nutrition and health. Although medical
schools put little emphasis on nutrition, physicians who are provided
with information about nutrition can readily see its potential
importance to disease prevention, and efforts are under way to
facilitate the development of nutrition courses in more medical
schools. (NRC 1985, Cooksey 2000) A survey of 4501 female physicians
participating in the Women Physicians? Health Study found that half of
them took a multivitamin-mineral supplement. Those at high risk of
heart disease were more likely to use antioxidant supplements, and
'those with a history of osteoporosis were nearly 3 times as likely as
those with no history to take supplemental calcium regularly.' (Frank
2000)

A survey of 181 cardiologists revealed that 44 percent were routinely
taking antioxidant vitamins. Among the supplement users, 90 percent
were taking vitamin E, three out of From The Benefits of Nutritional
Supplements, Copyright © 2002 Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)
four were taking vitamin C, and less than half were taking
beta-carotene. Although 44 percent of the cardiologists used
antioxidants themselves, 'a somewhat smaller percentage (37%)
recommended antioxidants routinely to their patients.' (Mehta 1997) A
survey of 676 dietetic interns and 68 directors of internship programs
found that 53 percent of the directors and 43 percent of the interns
used vitamin or mineral supplements frequently or daily. An additional
16 to 18 percent used vitamin or mineral supplements occasionally.
(Box 2001) These usage levels are comparable to those found in a much
earlier survey of 665 dietitians in Washington State, showing that
nearly 60 percent of the dietitians surveyed used some nutritional
supplement, either daily or occasionally. (Worthington-Roberts 1984)"

Council for Responsible Nutrition
http://www.crnusa.org/benpdfs/CRN011benefits_whovms.pdf

This is the Google search string that led me to the document excerpted above:

Google Web Search: "vitamin OR multivitamin supplements" physicians OR
doctors likely
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22vitamin+OR+multivitamin+supplements%22+physicians+OR+doctors+likely

I hope this helps! If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance with
this question before you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

Thanks!