September 2004

Major study shows health benefits,
cost savings of supplement use

A new study commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance shows the health benefits of taking five common nutritional supplements. These health benefits translate into lifetime healthcare cost savings of more than a$15 billion.

Implications of the study, conducted by The Lewin Group, a nationally recognized healthcare and human-services consulting firm, were presented to the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness in a Congressional hearing Sept. 22.

The study focused on five supplements: calcium, folic acid, omega 3 fatty acids, glucosamine and saw palmetto.

Key study findings of the study include:

• Calcium. Approximately 734,000 hip fractures could be avoided over a five-year period with a daily intake of 1200 mg of calcium with vitamin D.

The estimate of the five-year (2005-2009) net savings in hospital, nursing facility, and physician expenditures resulting from a reduction in the occurrence of hip fractures among those over age 65 is $13.9 billion.

• Folic acid. If just 10.5 million women of childbearing age began taking 400 mcg of folic acid daily, approximately 600 fewer babies would be born with neural tube defects per year, saving as much as $321,853,000 as a result. Approximately $1.3 billion in lifetime medical costs could potentially be saved over the next five years.

• Omega-3 fatty acids. The study showed consistent evidence that omega-3 fatty acids help reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease. The research literature contains promising studies concerning the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids for a wide number of chronic conditions (e.g., depression, renal disease, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma). (See related story, “FDA announces qualified health claims for omega-3 fatty acids.”)

• Glucosamine. Glucosamine has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects and is believed to repair and maintain cartilage.

• Saw Palmetto. Preliminary findings on the effectiveness of saw palmetto for alleviating the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) indicate that use of the herb yields slight to moderate improvement in symptoms for men with this chronic urinary syndrome.

“Many studies over the years have demonstrated the positive effects of calcium and folic acid. This report reinforces those findings by demonstrating the cost savings that could be achieved by taking these two supplements,” said Allen Dobson, PhD, senior vice president at The Lewin Group. “The results on omega-3 fatty acids, glucosamine and saw palmetto were also extremely encouraging in their ability to offset health problems and costs associated with chronic conditions.”

Jeff Blumberg, PhD, professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and associate director of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, was one of several experts who testified before the House subcommittee.

He said, “As our country faces an ever-growing crisis in health care, it is important to recognize the role that dietary supplements can play in reducing our burden of disease and the costs to manage it …The use of supplements present an affordable alternative.” He emphasized that the study presented “an extraordinarily conservative estimate of cost savings.”

“Many industry experts have long believed that dietary supplements provide consumers with long-term health benefits by reducing the incidence of debilitating health problems, and this study proves it,” said Elliott Balbert, president of the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance. “The findings provide evidence to support both the cost savings and quality-of-life benefits of these particular supplements.”

To download a fact sheet on the study, “Improving Public Health, Reducing Healthcare Costs: An Evidence-Based Study of Five Dietary Supplements,” go to http://www.chiroeco.com/news/2004/september/Supplefactsh.pdf

Sources: The Lewin Group, www.lewin.com; Dietary Supplement Education Alliance, www.supplementinfo.org.

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