Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
PLoS One. 2021 Mar 3;16(3):e0247295. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247295. eCollection 2021.
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.
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.
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.
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.
本研究旨在从阿卜杜勒阿齐兹国王大学健康和非健康学院的女学生中收集数据，并报告膳食补充剂使用的流行率、原因和决定因素。
在沙特阿拉伯达曼的阿卜杜勒阿齐兹国王大学健康和非健康学院进行了为期一个月的横断面研究。采用便利抽样法，通过英语和阿拉伯语版本的膳食补充剂问卷（DSQ）在线调查收集数据。使用 SPSS 版本 23 和 Medcalc 分析数据。该研究获得了伦理委员会的批准。
共收集了 545 名参与者的数据。膳食补充剂的总体使用率为 32.7%（95%CI：29.06%-36.51%）。所有健康学院学生的使用率为 29.77%（95%CI：25.29%-34.56%），所有非健康学院学生的使用率为 37.50%（95%CI：31.36%-43.96%）。大多数学生使用品牌产品，每月在补充剂上花费 286 沙特里亚尔（76.3 美元），并认为补充剂对健康有益（N=392，71.9%）。与非健康学院的学生相比，非健康学院的学生更认同补充剂对健康有益（p<0.001）。年龄≥20 岁、在非健康学院就读和就读至第 3 年的学生，更有可能认为补充剂对健康有益（2 倍以上）。
该大学的女学生普遍使用补充剂，但与其他当地和地区大学的学生相比，补充剂的使用量相当低。与健康学院相比，非健康学院的患病率更高，最常使用的补充剂是品牌产品和多种维生素，用于一般健康和福祉。这突显了学生对补充剂使用的倾向。
