Knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding dietary supplements in Iranian college students: a cross-sectional study

Dietary supplements (DSs) are an important strategy for nutritional deficiency prevention globally. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of DSs usage and knowledge and attitudes concerning DSs among medical science students. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 college students selected by a convenience sampling method in May–July 2023. Data were collected using a structured validated questionnaire that includes: socio-demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding DSs, types of used DSs, and reasons and sources for using DSs. SPSS software was utilized to estimate the results. The mean age of students was 21.83 ± 2.86 years old. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 22.21 ± 3.56 kg/m2 and 68.0% of participants had BMI = 18.5 to 24.9 and 18.5% had BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Moreover, 38.5% of students were using DSs and most of them didn’t use DSs according to the physician’s recommendation. However, they stated that DSs are not always safe and should only be used as per physician recommendation. Students consumed DSs for general health and well-being health and their main information source for using DSs was public health professionals. The most used DSs were vitamin D followed by Iron and Iron-Folic acid. The participants with a chronic disease were more likely to use DSs (AOR: 11.073, 95% CI 2.281, 53.764). This study indicated a relatively high prevalence of DSs use among university students and suggests adopting appropriate nutrition education programs to improve awareness of DSs to promote proper and safer practices.