Scholarlink

Background <p>An estimated 40% of adults in Australia who use complementary medicine report concurrent use with conventional medicines. The incidence of herb–drug interactions is currently unknown because of chronic underreporting, lack of healthcare professional enquiry, and low consumer awareness of potential risks.</p> Objective <p>The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of two clinically significant herb–drug interactions between commonly used herbs and prescription medicines.</p> Methods <p>We conducted a basket analysis to obtain point-of-sales data from across 4168 of the 6215 community pharmacies in Australia between April 2023 and March 2024. Data were used to identify the number of instances where oral contraceptives/hormonal contraceptives and <i>Hypericum perforatum</i> (St John’s wort) or atorvastatin and <i>Camellia sinensis</i> (green tea) were purchased in the same transaction. We used the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated resident population in Australia (26,821,557 at 30 September 2023) to calculate the estimated prevalence of these herb–drug interactions.</p> Results <p>An estimated 42,567 Australians are at risk of experiencing one of these two herb–drug interactions of interest. <i>Hypericum perforatum</i> product purchases occurred in 0.6% of transactions with oral contraceptives, equating to approximately 3901 individuals at risk of this potential interaction. <i>Camellia sinensis</i> product purchases occurred in 1.8% of transactions with atorvastatin. This equates to approximately 22,408 individuals at risk of a <i>Camellia sinensis</i>–atorvastatin interaction.</p> Conclusion <p>We identified concurrent purchases of one of two herb–drug combinations that are known to have potentially clinically significant interactions from Australian pharmacies<i>.</i> Public health initiatives aimed to support informed decisions about the concurrent use of medicines are warranted.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Consumer purchasing behaviour: oral contraceptives with Hypericum perforatum, and atorvastatin with Camellia sinensis: an Australia-wide basket analysis

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年6月28日

查看全文
  • Wai-Jo Jocelin Chan,
  • Jennifer Hunter,
  • Andrew J. McLachlan,
  • Joanna E. Harnett

摘要

Background

An estimated 40% of adults in Australia who use complementary medicine report concurrent use with conventional medicines. The incidence of herb–drug interactions is currently unknown because of chronic underreporting, lack of healthcare professional enquiry, and low consumer awareness of potential risks.

Objective

The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of two clinically significant herb–drug interactions between commonly used herbs and prescription medicines.

Methods

We conducted a basket analysis to obtain point-of-sales data from across 4168 of the 6215 community pharmacies in Australia between April 2023 and March 2024. Data were used to identify the number of instances where oral contraceptives/hormonal contraceptives and Hypericum perforatum (St John’s wort) or atorvastatin and Camellia sinensis (green tea) were purchased in the same transaction. We used the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated resident population in Australia (26,821,557 at 30 September 2023) to calculate the estimated prevalence of these herb–drug interactions.

Results

An estimated 42,567 Australians are at risk of experiencing one of these two herb–drug interactions of interest. Hypericum perforatum product purchases occurred in 0.6% of transactions with oral contraceptives, equating to approximately 3901 individuals at risk of this potential interaction. Camellia sinensis product purchases occurred in 1.8% of transactions with atorvastatin. This equates to approximately 22,408 individuals at risk of a Camellia sinensis–atorvastatin interaction.

Conclusion

We identified concurrent purchases of one of two herb–drug combinations that are known to have potentially clinically significant interactions from Australian pharmacies. Public health initiatives aimed to support informed decisions about the concurrent use of medicines are warranted.