Tendencies and attitudes towards dietary supplements use among undergraduate female students in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background Dietary supplements (DS) are products that improve the overall health and well-being of individuals and reduce the risk of disease. Evidence indicates a rising prevalence of the use of these products worldwide especially among the age group 18–23 years. Aim The study investigates the tendencies and attitudes of Bangladeshi undergraduate female students towards dietary supplements (DS). Methods A three-month (March 2018-May 2018) cross-sectional face-to-face survey was conducted in undergraduate female students in Chittagong, Bangladesh using a pre-validated dietary supplement questionnaire. The study was carried among the four private and three public university students of different disciplines in Chittagong to record their prevalent opinions and attitudes toward using DS. The results were documented and analyzed by SPSS version 22.0. Results Ninety two percent (N = 925, 92.0%) of the respondents answered the survey questions. The prevalence of DS use was high in undergraduate female students. The respondents cited general health and well-being (n = 102, 11.0%) and physician recommendation (n = 101, 10.9%) as a reason for DS use. Majority of the students (n = 817, 88.3%) used DS cost monthly between USD 0.12 and USD 5.90. Most of the students (n = 749, 81.0%) agreed on the beneficial effect of DS and a significant portion (n = 493, 53.3%) recommended for a regular use of DS. Highly prevalent use of dietary supplements appeared in Chittagonian undergraduate female students. They were tremendously positive in using DS. The results demonstrate an increasing trend of using DS by the undergraduate females for both nutritional improvement and amelioration from diseases. Conclusion Dietary supplements prevalence was so much higher in students of private universities as compared to students of public universities. Likewise, maximal prevalence is indicated in pharmacy department compared to other departments. Students preferred brand products, had positive opinions and attitudes towards dietary supplements.

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

“…These symptoms, however, are difficult to distinguish from symptoms of work overload, stress, or even depression [ 49 ]. A very similar profile of adverse effects of dietary supplements was reported by Samreen et al [ 41 ], Kobayashi et al [ 37 ], Jahan et al [ 40 ], and Alqrache et al [ 10 ]. It is worth mentioning that in choosing medical products available without prescription, almost 80% of pharmacy students consider safety as important in recommending the product to others and the third most important factor when they chose the OTC drug for themselves [ 47 ].…”

“…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 and factors associated with dietary supplement use among Bangladeshi public university students: A cross-sectional study

“…In part three, attitudes about DS were assessed using the 5-point Likert 6 questions which was derived from a study conducted in Bangladesh [ 9 ] in the context of favorable effects of DSs and the prevention of cancer and chronic illness when used regularly. The options of the Likert questions ranged from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree” and score for each option was assigned 0 to 4 for strongly disagree to strongly agree.…”

“…The micronutrients depletion situation in Bangladesh is growing day by day and this could be a source of motivation or reason for high DS patronage. Unlike in the USA and many developed countries in Europe where extensive research has been conducted to examine factors associated with DS usage to inform policy and regulations, very little has been done in Bangladesh [ 5 , 7 , 9 ].…”

“…However, it is unclear how these factors apply in Bangladesh due to discrepancies in different factors including socio-cultural and socioeconomic and socio-demographic which are present in these study settings. Few studies conducted in Bangladesh previously have concentrated on only females [ 5 , 9 ] with the reason being that females are more prone to suffer from nutritional deficiencies than men due to their female reproductive system, low social status, poverty and lack of education [ 8 ]. However, studies in other parts of the world have reported high DS patronage among males mostly for sports and physical activity purposes and also for the boosting of the body’s immune system [ 4 , 10 , 11 ].…”