Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Oxford Conference Center - Auditorium
Start Date
8-4-2019 10:30 AM
End Date
8-4-2019 10:45 AM
Description
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 amended the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The DSHEA also amended the U.S. Public Health Service Act in order to establish the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) and place it within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Passage of the DSHEA assured consumer access to supplements, defined dietary supplements as a special category of foods, laid out a regulatory framework enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and provided a basis for creating and disseminating research to strengthen knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements.
As directed by Congress, ODS’s mission to foster an enhanced quality of life and health for the U.S. population is achieved by providing resources for evaluating scientific information, stimulating and supporting research, disseminating research results, and educating the public. The ODS budget has grown over the years from a bit less that $1 million in 1995 to about $25 million in 2018. This amount is relatively modest by NIH standards, but ODS effectively leverages its resources with other parts of the NIH and with other collaborators to create a disproportionately large impact on our understanding of dietary supplements.
Over the past 25 years, ODS and its partners have created the NIH Centers for Advancing Research on Botanical and other Natural products (CARBON) program[1], the ODS Analytical Methods and Reference Materials Program[2], the ODS Evidence-based Review Program[3], the ODS Population Studies Program[4], and a brand new Biochemical Mediators of Resilience Program.
The Office has also created free public databases of dietary supplement labels[5] and ingredients[6], and a series of dietary supplement fact sheets[7]. Other research initiatives include creation and oversight of an international program for standardization of vitamin D metabolite measurements, support of measurement of total nutrient intake through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and similar activities, a program for evaluation of the sufficiency of iodine intake, a program for studying nutrient biomarkers that includes collection and evaluation of information on intake, status, and associated health effects. Finally, the Office of Dietary Supplements co-funds dietary supplement grants with many other NIH Institutes and Centers. Last year’s co-fund commitment was approximately $14 million, about half of the total ODS budget.
Going forward, ODS will continue to pursue its Congressionally mandated mission by continuing successful programs and by creating new programs as emerging needs are identified.
Recommended Citation
Betz, Joseph M., "Session 2: "The NIH Office Of Dietary Supplements: A Twenty-Five Year Retrospective"" (2019). Oxford ICSB. 3.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/icsb/2019_ICSB/day1/3
Publication Date
April 2019
Session 2: "The NIH Office Of Dietary Supplements: A Twenty-Five Year Retrospective"
Oxford Conference Center - Auditorium
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 amended the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The DSHEA also amended the U.S. Public Health Service Act in order to establish the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) and place it within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Passage of the DSHEA assured consumer access to supplements, defined dietary supplements as a special category of foods, laid out a regulatory framework enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and provided a basis for creating and disseminating research to strengthen knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements.
As directed by Congress, ODS’s mission to foster an enhanced quality of life and health for the U.S. population is achieved by providing resources for evaluating scientific information, stimulating and supporting research, disseminating research results, and educating the public. The ODS budget has grown over the years from a bit less that $1 million in 1995 to about $25 million in 2018. This amount is relatively modest by NIH standards, but ODS effectively leverages its resources with other parts of the NIH and with other collaborators to create a disproportionately large impact on our understanding of dietary supplements.
Over the past 25 years, ODS and its partners have created the NIH Centers for Advancing Research on Botanical and other Natural products (CARBON) program[1], the ODS Analytical Methods and Reference Materials Program[2], the ODS Evidence-based Review Program[3], the ODS Population Studies Program[4], and a brand new Biochemical Mediators of Resilience Program.
The Office has also created free public databases of dietary supplement labels[5] and ingredients[6], and a series of dietary supplement fact sheets[7]. Other research initiatives include creation and oversight of an international program for standardization of vitamin D metabolite measurements, support of measurement of total nutrient intake through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and similar activities, a program for evaluation of the sufficiency of iodine intake, a program for studying nutrient biomarkers that includes collection and evaluation of information on intake, status, and associated health effects. Finally, the Office of Dietary Supplements co-funds dietary supplement grants with many other NIH Institutes and Centers. Last year’s co-fund commitment was approximately $14 million, about half of the total ODS budget.
Going forward, ODS will continue to pursue its Congressionally mandated mission by continuing successful programs and by creating new programs as emerging needs are identified.
Comments
[1] http://ods.od.nih.gov/Research/Dietary_Supplement_Research_Centers.aspx (accessed 1/07/19)
[2] http://ods.od.nih.gov/Research/AMRMProgramDescription.aspx (accessed 1/07/19)
[3] http://ods.od.nih.gov/Research/Evidence-Based_Review_Program.aspx (accessed 1/07/19)
[4] https://ods.od.nih.gov/Research/populationstudies.aspx (accessed 1/07/19)
[5] http://www.dsld.nlm.nih.gov/dsld/ (accessed 1/07/19)
[6] https://dietarysupplementdatabase.usda.nih.gov (accessed 1/07/19)
[7] http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/ (accessed 1/07/19)
ODS Staff: Richard Bailen, LaVerne Brown, Cindy Davis, Abby Ershow, Claudia Faigen, Jaime Gahche, Adam Kuszak, Nancy Potischman, Barbara Sorkin, Anne Thurn. A special acknowledgement to my friend and mentor Paul Coates.