Adverse Events from Dietary Supplements Lead to 23,000 ER Visits Annually

An estimated 23,000 emergency department visits in the United States every year are caused by adverse events related to dietary supplements, according to a new government study. These visits often involve heart problems stemming from weight-loss or energy products among young adults, and swallowing problems among older adults.

This is the first study to document the extent of hospitalizations and severe injuries due to dietary supplements, The New York Times reports.

Government researchers analyzed emergency room visits at a large network of hospitals around the nation over 10 years, and determined which ones involved dietary supplements. They found about 10 percent, or 2,150 cases annually, were severe enough to require hospitalization. Prescriptions drugs are responsible for 30 times as many ER visits each year, the article notes.

The study appears in The New England Journal of Medicine.

More than one-fourth of ER visits occurred among people ages 20 to 34. Half of these cases were linked to supplements marketed for energy enhancement or weight loss. They often produced symptoms such as chest pain, irregular heart rhythms and heart palpitations. These supplements have names such as Raspberry Ketones, Black Jack Energy, Hydroxycut and Xenadrine.

Dietary supplements can be especially dangerous because they are often adulterated with toxic chemicals, experts say. Unlike prescription stimulants such as Adderall, dietary supplements marketed for weight loss and energy do not have to carry labels that warn about their potential to cause heart-related side effects.

The supplements, unlike prescription drugs, do not have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and they are not required to list major side effects.

“This is very disheartening,” said Dr. Pieter Cohen of Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the new study. “What we’re seeing from this study is that the system has failed. It’s failing to protect consumers from very serious harms.”