Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements in Psychiatry: Practical applications, current evidence and safety

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

1:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST

Location: Hibiscus B

Speaker(s)

MC

Molly Cinderella, MD (she/her/hers)

Associate Program Director, Cone Health Psychiatry Residency Program. General C-L Psychiatrist.
Cone Health
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Andrea DeSimone, DO

Chair, Department of Psychiatry
Bayhealth Medical Center
Camden Wyoming, Delaware
Seema Quraishi, MD

Division Chief and Fellowship Program Director, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
Mount Sinai Beth Israel
New York, New York

Lead Speaker(s)

Ana Ivkovic, MD, FACLP

Staff Psychiatrist, Massachusetts General Hospital; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts

PDF

Moderator(s)

Felicia A. Smith, MD (she/her/hers)

Associate Chief of Psychiatry, MGH
MGH
Boston, Massachusetts

Abstract: The nutraceutical and supplement industry increasingly attracts patients looking for more natural ways to address their mental health challenges. Meanwhile, clinicians often lack the bandwith to stay abreast of the evidence base (or lack thereof) of such interventions. In this clinical skills course, we will provide an overview of the use of supplements, vitamins, and minerals in psychiatry with special attention to their evidence base and safety. Didactics will be broken up with interactive, case-based small-group discussions. A “Name that Nutraceutical” quiz utilizing audience response systems technology will provide an additional interactive component to reinforce didactic material. Finally, we plan to reserve time for a panel-share and larger-group discussion on “hot topics” including newer supplements that have a smaller emerging evidence base. In order to make our course as interactive as possible, we will provide a pre-recorded 90-minute lecture ahead of the conference covering the broad topic of micronutrients in psychiatry, where Ana Ivkovic will review limitations of micronutrient-intervention research, where specific vitamins and minerals are found in the diet, manifestations of deficiency states, laboratory testing, and repletion doses.

Learning Objectives:

Course attendees will be able to describe the role of vitamins and minerals in neurotransmitter synthesis, function, and neuropsychiatric symptomatology as well as the limitations of micronutrient intervention studies.
Participants will learn the evidence base for botanicals (e.g., St. John’s wort, lavender, rhodiola) and other common supplements (e.g., NAC, SAMe, omega 3's) in the treatment of specific psychiatric disorders.
Attendees will develop an understanding of common drug interactions with various supplements and other safety considerations.