Public knowledge, use and attitude toward multivitamin supplementation: A cross-sectional study among general public

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The use of supplements has increased substantially in the past few decades. The present study is an effort to explore pattern of use, knowledge and attitude toward consumption of multivitamin supplements among the general public. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study on 120 adult participants from the general public was conducted. The participants were interviewed and information was collected in a predesigned structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed and expressed as counts and percentages. RESULTS: Of the 120 study participants, 66 were males and 54 were females. Results revealed that 68.33% (82) of the participants were users of multivitamin supplements. Out of the users, 69.5% (57) participants consumed on the advice of doctors, 18.2% (15) were self-prescribers while 12.1% (10) relied on advice of family or friends. Among the users, 70.96% considered such supplements to be helpful. Reasons quoted for self-medication use of multivitamins were multiple such as maintenance of general health (55%), to allay weakness or fatigue (20%), to improve appetite (15%) etc. Majority of the participants were unaware regarding the correct indications for multivitamin supplementation. Regarding knowledge about the natural sources of these vitamins, as many as 76% showed ignorance. CONCLUSION: Finding from this study suggests that multivitamin use is highly prevalent and the majority of the participants were ignorant of any possible harm or drug interactions. In light of this, there is a need to adopt certain educational interventions to minimize self-directed supplement use and increase awareness regarding their correct usage.