Herbal and vitamin supplement use in a XXXX screening population.

@entity1 @entity323 @entity263 @entity585 @entity7477 @entity16427 @entity9940
OBJECTIVES: To report the observed usage trend of herbal and vitamin supplements in a population of @entity1 visiting a @entity263 screening clinic and its relation to the Sexual Health Inventory for @entity1 score and the American Urological Association Symptom Score (AUA-SS). METHODS: @entity1 participating in the 2001 and 2002 @entity263 Awareness Week screening for @entity263 were given a self-administered questionnaire. The questions were designed to gather background health information and to determine the use of prescription medications for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), as well as the use of herbal and vitamin supplements. In addition, the AUA-SS and Sexual Health Inventory for @entity1 score were calculated for each @entity1 in the study. RESULTS: The number of questionnaires completed was 12,457. Of the completed questionnaires, 70% of the @entity1 reported the use of multivitamins, and 21% reported the use of herbal supplements. Ten percent of all @entity1 reported the use of prescription medications for LUTS (AUA-SS greater than 15). Of the @entity1 reporting the use of prescription medications, 19% were taking @entity585 , 17% @entity16427 , 20% @entity7477 , 23% @entity9940 , and 22% other prescription medications. Moreover, the average AUA-SS was greater for the @entity1 taking herbs or supplements than for those who did not take herbs or supplements (P <0.001). Nonetheless, the Sexual Health Inventory for @entity1 score did not show a positive correlation between the intake of alternative medications and the severity of @entity323 . CONCLUSIONS: We observed that a substantial proportion of @entity1 with LUTS participating in a national @entity263 screening program were not taking prescription medications for these symptoms. Furthermore, we observed that @entity1 taking herbs or vitamin supplements tended to have higher AUA scores. Additional investigation is warranted into the reason some @entity1 are not receiving standard prescription medications for LUTS and whether reliance on alternative treatments is playing a role in this phenomenon.
