Prevalence of Food Supplements used in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Referred to Government Hospitals in Yazd

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease where immune system mistakenly assumes different elements of joints as exogenous and attacks it. Based on scientific findings, a wide range of complementary and alternative therapies (including herbal and food supplements) are useful for RA.
This Cross-sectional study was carried out on 120 patients suffered from RA whom were referred to public health centers of Yazd in 2014. Using a questionnaire, demographic characteristics and the type and rate of supplementation were evaluated in these patients.
out of 120 patients, 118 individuals used at least one of the questioned supplements. Patients ranged from 19 to 76 years that 71.6 percent ≥ 40 years, 85% female, 92% married, 55% earned between 1 and 2 million Tomans per month and 51.7% had high school diploma or higher education.
The most prevalent consumed supplement was calcium-Vitamin D (90.7%) and Folic acid (%80.5), vitamin D (%73.7), and omega-3 (%55.9) came afterward. Interestingly, majority of patients (96.5%) were taking supplements under the supervision of rheumatologist.
Based on present data obtained in patients suffering from RA, most frequently used supplement was calcium-vitamin D. Most patients were satisfied of positive effects of these supplements.