ABSTRACT
Background. Several studies showed that regular gymnasium users use various dietary supplements without comprehension of their potential risks. Objective. To determine the prevalence and dietary supplement intake and assess the awareness of supplement use among regular gymnasium users in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among regular gymnasium users in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between April 2015 and June 2015. A validated structured questionnaire was used. Results. The study included 299 participants. Of these 113 (37.8%) were dietary supplements users and this was more common among males than females (44.7% versus 16.4%). Gender based analysis showed that males were exercising more frequently than females and the type of cardiovascular exercise was more among them. The most commonly used supplements were whey protein (22.1%), amino acids (16.8%), multivitamins (16.8%), creatine (11.5%), and omega 3 (11.5%). The reasons for taking dietary supplements were to improve body shape (47.7%), increase health (44.2%), and improve performance (41.5%). Conclusion. Most of the information about supplements was obtained from unreliable sources. More studies are needed to better understand supplements use and their impact on health in Saudi Arabia.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) poses a health risk to healthcare workers who are in close proximity to infected individuals. Medical students are a particularly high-risk group due to the lack of an obligatory vaccination program and a post-vaccination screening program to determine immunity status, which results in a lack of awareness of and compliance with the HBV vaccine. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), a tertiary care academic hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2013 to March 2014. Medical students in their second to fifth years (n=444; 213 men and 231 women) completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding awareness of HBV and compliance with the HBV vaccination program in KKUH. RESULTS: Medium to low knowledge levels were present in 53.5% of the participants, and 44.3% reported that they were not compliant with the vaccination program provided by KKUH. While 93.9% received the HBV vaccine upon entry to medical school, only 59.5% received all 3 doses, citing forgetfulness and a busy schedule as common reasons for the low compliance. There was no association between the knowledge and awareness of the participants and their compliance (p=0.988). CONCLUSION: Medical students had a low level of compliance with the HBV vaccination program, regardless of their knowledge and awareness of the disease and vaccination. We recommend that programs and campaigns be developed to increase the overall awareness of this disease. We also suggest that a mandatory HBV vaccination program should be implemented to improve the compliance rate among medical students.
