title: Herbal and nutritional supplement use among college students in Qatar.
abstract: There is increasing demand for herbal and nutritional supplements in the Middle East. This study aimed to examine the use of supplements by college students in Qatar and to elucidate users' views about them. A total of 419 college students completed a self-administered questionnaire. Almost half of the respondents (49.6%) had used supplements (ever users), with 32.7% reporting using them in the previous 6 months (current users). Of the latter, 27.7% had used herbal supplements, 56.2% vitamins and minerals and 56.9% non-vitamin, non-mineral, non-herbal supplements. Many participants considered supplements to be safer and more effective than conventional medicines. Supplements were preferred over conventional medicines for the treatment of digestive conditions and common respiratory ailments and for weight management. Educating health-care providers about the benefits and risks of supplements is imperative and will enable health-care practitioners to guide patients in making informed decisions about supplement use.
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mamtani
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Doha, Qatar. soc2005@qatar-med.cornell.edu.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheema
authors.affiliation: College of the North Atlantic in Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: MacRae
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alrouh
authors.affiliation: College of the North Atlantic in Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: ElHajj
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mahfoud
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011780:Qatar; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities