United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-09-07 monographic deposited born digital 50 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-1129 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-1129 P0b002ee18038ece1 f:d011129 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-1129 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-1129 GAO-01-1129 Health hazards Consumer protection Product safety Drugs Economic analysis Elderly persons FDA/FTC Operation Cure.All Other Written Product A01760

Dietary supplements marketed as anti-aging therapies may pose a potential for physical harm to senior citizens. Evidence from the medical literature shows that a variety of frequently used dietary supplements can have serious health consequences for seniors. Particularly risky are products that may be used by seniors who have underlying diseases or health conditions that make the use of the product medically inadvisable or supplements that interact with medications that are being taken concurrently. Further, studies have found that products sometimes contain harmful contaminants or much more of an active ingredient than is indicated on the label. Unproven anti-aging and alternative medicine products also pose a risk of economic harm to seniors. Although GAO was unable to find any recent, reliable estimates of the overall economic harm to seniors from these products, it did uncover several examples that illustrate the risk of economic harm. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have identified a number of products that make advertising or labeling claims with insufficient substantiation, some costing consumers hundreds or thousands of dollars apiece. The potential for harm to senior citizens from health products making questionable claims has been a concern for public health and law enforcement officials, and federal and state agencies have activities under way to protect consumers of these products. FDA and FTC sponsor programs and provide educational materials for senior citizens to help them avoid health fraud. At the state level, agencies are working to protect consumers of health products by enforcing state consumer protection and public health laws, although anti-aging and alternative products are receiving limited attention. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Health Products for Seniors: Potential Harm From "Anti-Aging" Products, by Janet Heinrich, Director for Public Health Issues, before the Senate Special Committee on Aging. GAO-01-1139T, Sept. 10 (17 pages). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-1129/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-1129.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-1129/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-1129.pdf GAO-01-1129 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-1129 Other Written Product GAO-01-1129; Health Products for Seniors: "Anti-Aging" Products Pose Potential for Physical and Economic Harm; Health hazards Consumer protection Product safety Drugs Economic analysis Elderly persons FDA/FTC Operation Cure.All Title 21 Section 374 21 U.S.C. 374