Prevalence of use increased especially in women and older adults; biotin may cause inaccurate lab results
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) — From 1999 to 2016, the prevalence of self-reported biotin supplement use increased, especially among women and older adults, according to a research letter published in the Aug. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Danni Li, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues examined trends in self-reported biotin supplement use of 1 mg/d or greater and 5 mg/d or greater from 1999 to 2016 using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
The researchers found that from 1999-2000 to 2015-2016, there was an increase in the overall self-reported prevalence of 1 mg/d or greater biotin use, from 0.1 to 2.8 percent. There were no reports of biotin use of 5 mg/d or greater before 2007 to 2008; however, from 2007-2008 to 2015-2016, the overall prevalence of self-reported use increased from 0.1 to 0.7 percent. For both 1 mg/d or greater and 5 mg/d or greater, there were notable increases in prevalence among women and older adults (≥60 years). Among women and those aged 60 years or older, the prevalence rates for 1 mg/d or greater and 5 mg/d or greater were 7.4 and 2.3 percent, respectively, in 2015 to 2016.
“These findings are concerning in light of the 2017 FDA safety communication that described the potential of biotin interference to cause inaccurate laboratory results, including falsely low troponin results that could lead to missed or delayed myocardial infarction diagnoses,” the authors write.
One author disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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