The Reporting of Supplement Use by Dental Patients on Their Medical History Questionnaire

• Main Author: Bakuri, Sarmad
• Format: Others
• Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2014
• Subjects: supplement; survey; dental; Dentistry; Medicine and Health Sciences
• Online Access: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/3338; http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4337&context=etd

The Reporting of Supplement Use by Dental Patients on Their Medical History Questionnaire Objectives: The goals of the study were three fold. Estimate the prevalence of supplement use by dental patients. Determine if the design of a medical history form influences the prevalence of supplement use reported. Determine whether or not patients are aware of supplement side effects and interactions with medications. Methods: Patients were randomly allocated to either a standard medical history form or the same form with additional questions about supplement use. After completing the initial forms, a survey containing questions about supplements was filled out by both groups. For investigating differences between groups, logistic regression and analysis of variance were used depending on the type of outcome variable. Results: Two hundred and nine patients participated in the study. The mean number of supplements reported by patients was influenced by the type of health history questionnaire given to the patient. Specifically asking about supplements versus not asking at all resulted in nearly double the number of supplements reported by the patient (mean of 1.53 when asked, 0.76 when not asked, p< 0.0001). Patient age and income were related to number of supplements used per patient. The two oldest age categories (50–65 and >65) reported a mean number of supplements used of 2.82 and 2.72, respectively versus the youngest age group (<30 years old) which reported a mean of 1.05 (p<0.05). The highest income level (>$75,000 per year) reported the lowest number of supplements per patient of 0.56 versus the other income levels (p<0.02), which reported mean supplemental use ranging from 2.28 to 2.71. Additionally, the majority of the subjects (69 %) were not aware of the side effects and interactions of supplements with medications. Conclusion: Patients tend not to report supplement use on the medical history questionnaire unless they are directly asked and the majority of patients are not aware of interactions with medications. Patient income and age have an effect on the frequency of supplement use.