The use of herbal and dietary supplement among community-dwelling elderly in a suburban town of Malaysia

Cross-sectional survey of community-dwelling elderly aged ≥60 years in Puncak Alam, Kuala Selangor District, State of Selangor, Malaysia, conducted March–May 2019. Inclusion: aged ≥60 years, residing in Puncak Alam, able to understand Malay or English. Exclusion: cognitive or mental health problems or refusal to participate. 400 approached; 336 responded (84%); 66.7% female; mean age 63.6 years; 46.1% diagnosed with a medical condition; 77% using at least one prescription/OTC medicine.

HDS use prevalence was 45.8% (154/336) in the past month. Among non-users, 62.6% preferred modern medicine; among users, 75.3% used at least one modern medicine. Predictors of HDS use included good-excellent perceived health (adjusted OR 2.666; 95% CI 1.592–4.464), history of sickness in the past month (adjusted OR 2.500; 95% CI 1.426–4.383), and lower BMI (adjusted OR 0.937; 95% CI 0.887–0.990). Only 16.2% of HDS users disclosed to healthcare providers. Most common HDS were Vitamin C (39%), Honey (22.7%), Fish Oil (9.7%), Glucosamine (9.1%), Jamu (7.8%), and Vitamin B Complex (7.8%). Main motivations: easy access (90.3%), affordability (85.7%), and recommendations from family/friends (82.5%). Daily use was reported by 60.7%; 84% used to maintain health; 41.7% to prevent disease; 25% to treat minor illnesses; 14.6% to treat chronic diseases. Positive outcomes were reported for 94.2% of HDS products; adverse effects occurred in 9.7% (e.g., weight gain, stomachache, frequent urination). Information sources were primarily family and friends (92.2%), Internet (38.3%), and TV (36.4%), with pharmacies supplying 56% of products; pharmacists were cited as information source by 23%. Expenditure: 81.2% spent <RM100/month. Concomitant use with prescription/OTC medicines occurred in 75.3%. Conclusion: HDS use is common among the elderly; healthcare providers should actively inquire about HDS use, educate on safe, evidence-based practices, and campaigns should address misinformation; pharmacists should play a bigger role in counseling and information reliability.

Cross-sectional design; self-reported data; no dosage/amount data; no assessment of HDS–drug interactions; convenience sampling; single suburban town; limited generalizability; potential response bias.