ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTIONS REGARDING DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS AMONG MEDICAL AND PHARMACY STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Introduction: According to the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), dietary supplements (DS) are products taken by mouth that contain a “dietary ingredient.” Such dietary ingredients include minerals, vitamins, herbs or botanicals, amino acids as well as other substances used to supplement the diet. This study aims to determine the prevalence of usage and Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) of dietary supplements among medical and pharmacy students at the University of Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study is done among 332 undergraduate medical and pharmacy students studying at the University of Cyberjaya, regardless of age and gender. Results: It was found that 39.4% of medical students and 28.7% of pharmacy students consume dietary supplements. Among the dietary supplement users, 44.3% consume dietary supplements to improve health meanwhile 34.6% to avoid dietary deficiency. 46.3% of medical students and 52.5% of pharmacy students who consume dietary supplements think the use of dietary supplements is not always safe (p<0.001) meanwhile 71.4% of medical students and 73.3% of pharmacy students think that taking a drug, food or drinks with the dietary supplements might interact with each other. It was found that 44.2% of medical students always look for professional medical help when taking dietary supplements meanwhile 57.4% of pharmacy students do not. Conclusion: This study only shows the prevalence of dietary supplement consumption among medical and pharmacy students