Prevalence, reasons, and determinants of dietary supplements use among undergraduate female students of health and non-health colleges in a Saudi public university

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to gather data from female students studying in both health and non-health colleges at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University and report the prevalence, reasons, and determinants of dietary supplements use. Methods A month-long cross-sectional study was conducted in health and non-health colleges affiliated to Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Convenient sampling was employed, and the data was gathered through an online survey using the English and Arabic versions of the Dietary Supplement Questionnaire (DSQ). The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23 and Medcalc. The study was approved by an ethics committee. Results Data from 545 participants was collected. The overall prevalence of dietary supplement use was 32.7% (95% CI: 29.06%– 36.51%). The prevalence was 29.77% (95% CI: 25.29%– 34.56%) among students at all health colleges combined and, it was 37.50% (95% CI: 31.36%– 43.96%) among students at all non-health colleges. Most students used a brand product, spent a monthly cost of SAR 286 (USD 76.3) on supplements and agreed that supplements were good for health (N = 392, 71.9%). Students from non-health- colleges agreed that dietary supplements are good for health in greater numbers as compared to non-health college students (p < 0.001). Students aged ≥ 20 years, studying in a non-health college and up to 3rd year of study, were more 2 times more likely to agree that dietary supplements are good for health. Conclusion Supplements were commonly used among female students at this university however, it was quite low as compared to students from other local and regional universities. Prevalence was higher in non-health colleges as compared to health colleges and the most commonly used supplements were brand products and, multivitamins, used for general health and well-being. This highlights the inclination of students towards supplement use.

Prevalence of Dietary Supplements Use among College Students in Iraq

“…These points also detected by several previous studies [17,7,21,22]. The most prevalent reasons for DS consumption were to combat nutritional deficiencies (69%) and to boost immunity (48%) as which is also match with previous studies findings [7,23,24]. More than half of the individuals (54.4 percent) experienced at least one adverse impact when using DS during a specific timeframe; this result contradicts several published studies that reported the adverse effects that developed concurrently while using DS were low and sometimes infrequent [25].…”

Factors That Influence the Use of Dietary Supplements among the Students of Wroclaw Medical University in Poland during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…More emphasis should be placed on doctor’s or pharmacist’s opinion when choosing dietary supplements or over-the-counter medications. In the presented study, general practitioners or pharmacists were the sources of recommendation for only 16% of persons taking DS or OTC drugs for stress, anxiety, depression, or sleeping problems, which is much less than in some other studies [ 39 ].…”

“…This is difficult to compare with other studies because many of them focus on the general use of dietary supplements rather than specifically on supplements for stress, anxiety, depression, or sleeping problems; but in general, the trend is that women use DS more often [ 37 , 38 ]. Among the many reasons for taking the DS or OTC drugs reported by the students or young adults are relief of fatigue, focus enhancement [ 10 ], stress management, mental focus, concentration, improving the duration and quality of sleep [ 6 ], or memory enhancement [ 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”

Prevalence of nutraceutical use in younger population of North India and the association between gender and community in its usage: Cross-sectional study

“…19 Rural living differs from urban living in many ways that could affect dietary supplement consumption and related consequences, besides other demographic factors. 20 Several epidemiological studies also opine that demographic factors may influence supplement consumption. 19,20 Old age, female gender, degree of education, affordability and employment status are a few prominent demographic characteristics linked to increasing dietary supplement usage.…”

“…20 Several epidemiological studies also opine that demographic factors may influence supplement consumption. 19,20 Old age, female gender, degree of education, affordability and employment status are a few prominent demographic characteristics linked to increasing dietary supplement usage. 21 The current study reported that overall, 59.27 % of nutraceutical users belonged to urban dwellings.…”