US supplement use hits 60% as consumers move beyond multivitamins, JAMA study finds

Dietary supplement use among US adults rose from 51% to 60% between 1999 and 2023, with the steepest gains occurring after 2009-2010, according to a 25-year analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data published in JAMA Network.

The repeated cross-sectional study, which included 63,442 adults across 11 NHANES cycles, found that growth was not uniform across categories.

While multivitamin-multimineral (MVMM) use declined from 35% to 31%, standalone vitamins, minerals and botanicals all increased, indicating a consumer shift toward targeted, single-ingredient formulations rather than broad-spectrum products.

Vitamin D and zinc showed some of the sharpest individual increases, while newer entrants, including ashwagandha, hyaluronic acid, elderberry, collagen and prebiotics/probiotics, emerged as measurable categories in later survey cycles.

Turmeric, curcumin, lycopene and omega-3 also posted notable gains.

Conversely, the use of ephedra, ginseng, ginkgo and several trace minerals fell sharply, a trend the scientific team linked to regulatory action, safety concerns and weakening evidence of efficacy.

Adults aged 65 and older saw the largest absolute increase in uptake, rising from 62% to 78% — a pattern the researchers attributed to an ageing population increasingly using supplements alongside prescribed medication regimens, raising fresh questions about the risk of drug-supplement interactions and the need for clinician-led guidance.

The data also captured a pandemic-era effect: vitamin and mineral use rose further between the prepandemic/early-pandemic period and the later-pandemic/postpandemic period, with zinc and elderberry — both marketed for immune support — showing particularly strong gains, consistent with prior pandemic-era demand spikes.

Key takeaways for the nutra industry