Use of Vitamin and Mineral Supplements by Pharmacy Students

Factors affecting consumers’ decisions on the use of nutraceuticals: a systematic review

“…The perceived health benefits was commonly cited as the reason of taking nutraceuticals (Arvanitoyannis and Krystallis, 2006, Bilici et al, 2012, Blendon et al, 2001, Bruno and Ellis, 2005, Fabian et al, 2011, Hall et al, 2003, Leung and Lum, 2011, Page et al, 2015, Patch et al, 2005, Sinha and Efron, 2005, Tangkiatkumjai et al, 2013, Tangkiatkumjai et al, 2014b, Lim et al, 2006, Milan et al, 2008, Blendon et al, 2013, Dickinson et al, 2014, Eliason et al, 1999, Jazieh et al, 2004, Kristiansen et al, 2005, Krumbach et al, 1999, Neuhouser et al, 1999, O'Dea and Rawstorne, 2000, Okleshen Peters et al, 2004, Ranelli et al, 1993, Ziegler et al, 2003, Sandmann et al, 2015, while those who doubted the health benefits avoided taking nutraceuticals (Holt et al, 2010, Mercer et al, 2012, Schoenberg et al, 2004, Tangkiatkumjai et al, 2014a, Yoon and Horne, 2004, Arthur et al, 2012, de Jong et al, 2005, Downie et al, 2015, Landström et al, 2009, Nieper, 2005, Niva, 2006, Steele and Senekal, 2005…”

“…Specifically, those who perceived that nutrients intake was inadequate from diet alone decided to take nutraceuticals , Dickinson et al, 2014, Eliason et al, 1999, Fabian et al, 2011, Jazieh et al, 2004, Kristiansen et al, 2005, Krumbach et al, 1999, Neuhouser et al, 1999, O'Dea and Rawstorne, 2000, Okleshen Peters et al, 2004, Ranelli et al, 1993, Sandmann et al, 2015, Ziegler et al, 2003, while those who perceived proper diet alone was adequate would not take nutraceuticals (de Jong et al, 2005, Holt et al, 2010, Downie et al, 2015, Nieper, 2005, Niva, 2006, Steele and Senekal, 2005, Tyler et al, 2008, Tyler Jr et al, 2009, Landström et al, 2009.…”

The effects of an oral multivitamin combination with calcium, magnesium, and zinc on psychological well-being in healthy young male volunteers: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial

“…For example, a recent study of pharmacy students found that of the 692 students surveyed, 47% reported taking vitamin and mineral supplements in the preceding 2 weeks (Ranelli et al 1993). Research also indicates that around 30% of pharmacists in the UK and 40% in the USA regularly recommend nutritional supplements to their customers (Nelson and Bailie 1990).…”

“…The major reasons for these recommendations were anaemia, dieting, alcoholism, pregnancy, anxiety, fatigue and stress. Aside from compensating for perceived inadequacies in diet and a desire to prevent cold and other illnesses, combating stress and fatigue are the most frequently reported reasons for taking vitamin and mineral supplements (Sobal et al 1986;Sobal and Daly 1990;Ranelli et al 1993).…”

Dietary Supplements

“…The system detects relatively few adverse events, probably less than 1% of the actual incidence. The FDA received 256 21 • Dietary Supplements about 7000 dietary supplement-related adverse event reports through the voluntary system since 1993. The difficulty in generating a signal relates to the few reports from health care professionals, inadequate medical records available, unknown ingredients and unknown manufacturers for many products, and lack of product labels or product samples for the majority of existing reports.…”