Findings from the “Life…supplemented” Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study reveal that orthopedic specialists, cardiologists and dermatologists take and recommend dietary supplements to their patients both for overall wellness and reasons associated with their particular specialties. According to the study, practitioners within each specialty also believe the usage of dietary supplements among consumers is mainstream and more popular today than it was five years ago.

“We learned from the 2007 HCP Impact Study that physicians and nurses are taking supplements as part of a proactive wellness regimen that also includes healthy diet and regular exercise,” said Judy Blatman, senior vice president of communications at the Washington, D.C.-based Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), which manages the campaign. “With the second year of this study, we were able to dive into specific specialties and find similar trends, further demonstrating the important role for doctors in incorporating dietary supplements as an integral part of wellness.”

The new study builds on the results of the 2007 HCP Impact Study, which showed 72% of physicians and 89% of nurses personally use dietary supplements and three-quarters of physicians (79%) and nurses (82%) recommend dietary supplements to their patients. This particular study found that a large percentage of orthopedic specialists (94%) and dermatologists (75%) take dietary supplements. A little more than half of cardiologists also take supplements. Further, a majority of the specialists that take supplements also recommend them to their patients.