Patterns of prescribing of nutritional supplements in the United Kingdom

Background and Aims: A large number of prescriptions are issued for nutriti onal supplements under British National Formulary classifications 9.4.1 (fo ods for special diets) and 9.4.2 (enteral feeds), but little is known about the characteristics of the patients who receive them. We used the General Practice Research Database to examine patterns of prescribing of these supp lements. Methods: We selected patients who had been prescribed supplements under classifications 9.4.1 and 9.4.2 during 1996-1997. Descriptive statist ics were used to examine how prescribing varied. Results: 28644 patients re ceived prescriptions during 1996-1997. Among the 27413 (96%) patients presc ribed supplements for oral use, 14750 received supplements for enteral nutr ition alone, 8122 received supplements for special diets alone and 4541 had both types of supplement. 51% of patients receiving supplements for specia l diets were <18 years. The commonest diagnoses among such children were mi lk intolerance (24%) and malnutrition (17%). 94% of patients receiving supp lements for enteral nutrition were adult, 52% of whom had cancer or cardiov ascular disease. Only 4% of patients had weight and height recorded prior t o first prescription. Conclusions: The GPRD provides valuable information o n the characteristics of patients prescribed nutritional supplements. But b ecause only limited data are available on their nutritional status prior to supplementation, it is hard to assess whether general practitioners are pr escribing these supplements appropriately. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd .