General public knowledge and use of dietary supplements in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

CONTEXT: Dietary supplements is a growing industry, pharmaceuticals are having several types of similar supplements and multivitamins as over-the-counter products, a complete diet is necessary for a healthy body which leads to the usage of supplements or multivitamins complementing diets as needed, therefore leading to its encouraged usage among the population worldwide. AIMS: The study was aimed to determine the public's knowledge and their use of dietary supplements. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the general public of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The sample consisted of 679 participants including 41% males and 59% females. The ethnicity of the participants is 100% Arabs. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: SPSS. RESULTS: The sociodemographic data showed there were more female participants than males (59.1% vs. 40.9%), most of our participants had at least bachelor degree (64.4%), most of our participants had normal BMI (62.3%). 88.5% had knowledge on supplements and only 11.5% stated they were not aware at all. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary supplements and multivitamins consumption is prevalent among Saudi Arabian population. Our study suggests the majority of consumers understand the supportive role of dietary supplements and are aware of risks and side effects.

Refractory asthma phenotyping based on immunoglobulin E levels and eosinophilic counts: A real life study.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is an inflammatory heterogeneous disease with variable severity. The serum IgE level and Eosinophilic count have been used as biomarkers to define treatment strategies with biological agents in severe refractory asthma. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine the concurrence of high eosinophil count and elevated serum IgE levels in patients with severe refractory asthma. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional real-life study was conducted on patients attending adult refractory asthma outpatient clinic between 2015 and 2018. Serum total IgE level and blood EOS count on matched dates with spirometry and Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores were collected. All data were obtained while patients were not on biological agents. RESULTS: A total of 142 patients with severe refractory asthma were included. The mean age was 43 years, mean eosinophilic count 564 cells/µL and mean serum IgE levels of 520 IU/ml. There was a significant correlation between serum IgE level and eosinophilic count. Serum IgE and eosinophilic count were concurrently elevated in 110 patients (78%). The patients were further categorized into four subgroups. Group A: IgE 30-100 IU/mL and EOS 150-300 cells/µL (7.3%), Group B: IgE >100 IU/mL and EOS 150-300 cells/µL (19.1%), Group C: IgE 30-100 IU/mL and EOS >300 cells/µL (14.5%) and Group D: IgE >100 IU/mL, EOS >300 cells/µL (59.1%). CONCLUSION: The majority of severe refractory asthma patients exhibits both elevated serum IgE level and eosinophilic counts.