Use of Nutritional Supplements for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia

Objective: Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease. Studies have shown that several vitamins and nutritional supplements may contribute to a reduction in total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This goal of this study was to document the use of vitamins and nutritional supplements that may treat or prevent hypercholesterolemia. Methods: Secondary analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III responses from 13 990 patients were available to use for making population estimates. Results: Of those individuals with a known diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia, 3.6% were taking at least one vitamin or nutritional supplement to decrease cholesterol levels. For individuals trying to prevent hypercholesterolemia, 1.2% were using one of these vitamin or nutritional supplements. Only 0.7% of individuals without or trying to prevent hypercholesterolemia used one of these specific supplements. We used multivariate analysis to control for several factors, and individuals with a diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia had an adjusted odds ratio of 2.10 (95% confidence interval, 1.38–3.21) for vitamin use compared with those without or trying to prevent high cholesterol. Those trying to prevent hypercholesterolemia had an adjusted odds ratio of 0.69 (95% confidence interval, 0.48–1.00) for vitamin use compared with those without or trying to prevent high cholesterol. Conclusions: The use of vitamins and nutritional supplements that may reduce total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels is low in the United States. Future research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of these products, examine the quality and purity of currently available products, and explore whether using these supplements are an adequate low-cost alternative to pharmaceuticals now available.