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Who uses glucosamine and why? A study of 266,848 Australians aged 45 years and older
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 7, p e41540 (2012)
- Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- Objectives: There has been a dramatic increase in the use of complementary medicines over recent decades. Glucosamine is one of the most commonly used complementary medicines in Western societies. An understanding of glucosamine consumption is of significance for public health and future health promotion. This paper, drawing upon the largest dataset to date with regards to glucosamine use (n = 266,844), examines the use and users of glucosamine amongst a sample of older Australians. Design: Analysis of the self-reported data on use of glucosamine, demographics and health status as extracted from the dataset of the 45 and Up Study, which is the largest study of healthy ageing ever undertaken in the Southern Hemisphere involving over 265,000 participants aged 45 and over. Results: Analysis reveals that 58,630 (22.0%) participants reported using glucosamine in the 4 weeks prior to the survey. Use was higher for those who were female, non-smokers, residing in inner/outer regional areas, with higher income and private health insurance. Of all the health conditions examined only osteoarthritis was positively associated with use of glucosamine, while cancer, heart attack or angina and other heart disease were all negatively associated with glucosamine use. Conclusions: This study suggests that a considerable proportion of the Australia population aged 45 and over consume glucosamine. There is a need for health care practitioners to enquire with their patients about their use of glucosamine and for further attention to be directed to providing good quality information for patients and providers with regards to glucosamine products. © 2012 Sibbritt et al.
- Subjects :
- Gerontology
Complementary Therapies
Male
Aging
Anatomy and Physiology
Epidemiology
Alternative medicine
lcsh:Medicine
chemistry.chemical_compound
Glucosamine
Health care
lcsh:Science
Aged, 80 and over
education.field_of_study
Multidisciplinary
Drug Information
Epidemiology of Aging
Middle Aged
Medicine
Female
Public Health
New South Wales
Research Article
medicine.medical_specialty
Drugs and Devices
Drug Research and Development
General Science & Technology
Population
MEDLINE
Rheumatology
Osteoarthritis
medicine
Health insurance
Humans
education
Biology
Aged
Nutrition
Population Biology
business.industry
Public health
lcsh:R
Health Surveys
Health promotion
Logistic Models
chemistry
Dietary Supplements
lcsh:Q
Self Report
Preventive Medicine
business
Physiological Processes
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 7
- Issue :
- 7
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PloS one
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....20f44931c0b87e953145e5982245ac6e