Poison control calls for dietary supplements on the rise

The number of calls to poison control centers about dietary supplements has risen dramatically in the United States.

Researchers looked through the National Poison Data System about poison control center calls in the U.S. and its territories.

Calls related to dietary supplements rose more than 40 percent between 2000 and 2002.. dropped slightly between 2002 and 2005... then skyrocketed by nearly 50 percent between 2005 and 2012..

Investigators say on average dietary supplements are the reason for poison control centers calls about every 24 minutes.

Seventy percent of the calls involved children younger than six years old...

The majority of exposures were unintentional occurring when children swallowed supplements they found at home.

Study authors say lack of federal oversight has lead to inconsistencies in the quality of dietary supplements...

And the results suggest a need for FDA regulation as well as child-resistant packaging.