Consumption of dietary supplements and their determinants among adults in six Arabic countries: a cross-sectional survey

Faculty Medicine Year: 2024
Type of Publication: ZU Hosted Pages: 17
Authors:
Journal: The Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine Springer open Volume:
Keywords : Consumption , dietary supplements , their determinants among    
Abstract:
Background: Since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic crisis, the supplement market has consistently grown. Therefore, we conducted this survey during the fourth wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic to study the fre‐ quency and context of dietary supplement (DS) consumption (vitamins and mineral intake) and explore the consum‐ er’s pharmaceutical buying behaviour; and to study its determinants as regards the demographics, Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and healthy eating pyramids. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional web‐based survey on 1333 Arabic adults aged 18 years or more residing in six Arabic‐speaking countries in May 2022, using a validated self‐administrated questionnaire. The survey‐involved questions about sociodemographic characteristics, physical activity, FSS, healthy eating pyramid, DS consumption, and consumers’ pharmaceutical purchasing behaviour. Results: Most participants were aged 20 to less than 35 years, and 64.6% used dietary supplements. There was a sta‐ tistically significant difference between supplement users and nonusers as regards consumers’ pharmaceutical buying behaviour in terms of advertising quality, safety rules, pharmaceutical forms, and packet quality. Arabic adults con‐ sumed the following dietary supplements: 63.5% vitamin C, 60.1% vitamin D, 47.1% iron, and 44.4% zinc. Authorised products (76.0%), natural contents (75.0%), and safety rules (68%), were the most common factors influencing Arabic consumers’ pharmaceutical purchasing behavior. Multi‐logistic regression analysis showed that being female, having a history of COVID‐19, having a positive attitude about the benefits, and being recommended for supplement use were predictors of dietary supplement use. Conclusion: The dietary consumption of supplements is prevalent, mainly including vitamin C, vitamin D, iron, zinc, vitamin B, and magnesium. In addition, Arabic adults are poorly adherent to healthy eating pyramids. Given the ongo‐ ing COVID‐19 pandemic, Arabic health authorities should prioritize this issue to minimize the potential for misusing dietary supplements.
   
     
 
       

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