title: Predictors of dietary supplement use among female health workers in Tehran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the lack of evidence on the necessity of dietary supplements to meet nutrients requirements, the majority of people use them all over the world. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with supplement use in women who work in health centers in the city of Tehran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred sixty three female health workers participated in a cross-sectional study carried out in 2010 in health centers of Tehran. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured and body mass index was calculated. Data on demographic characteristics, lifestyle, and dietary supplement use were collected by interviewing. The analysis was conducted using univariate and multivariate logistic regression (MLR) in SPSS version 16.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of dietary supplement use was 53.8%. In univariate logistic regression model, age, education, husband's education, duration of employment, and tendency for changing weight at the time of the study were statistically significant predictors (P < 0.05). After MLR analysis, education (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.05-1.17) and duration of employment (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.06) remained significant in the model. Women with higher education and longer duration of employment had more tendency to use nutrient supplements.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings showed that education and duration of employment were the most important predictors for taking dietary supplements in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Porsina streets, Ghods street, Tehran, Iran. gsotoodeh@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Fereshteh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baygi
authors.forename: Gity
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sotoudeh
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qorbani
authors.forename: Haleh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sadrzadeh-Yeganeh
authors.forename: Abbass
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimi
authors.forename: Fariba
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Koohdani
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asayesh