Prevalence and Correlates of Dietary Supplements Use by Adult Outpatients Seeking Healthcare Services in a County Referral Hospital, Kenya

Abstract

There is minimal knowledge on the prevalence and correlates of use of most dietary supplements (DS) by the adult outpatients in Kenya, Kericho county despite the global rise of their use by patients. Dietary supplementation in illness is highly arguable since toxic effects of excessive intake and drugs interactions have been identified for some of the supplements when their use is not prescribed and monitored by a healthcare worker. Randomly selected 237 participants responded to a structured questionnaire in this crosssectional study. The prevalence of dietary supplements use was 42% with 58% being non-prescribed. The correlates of dietary supplements were were gender (male), presence of non-communicable disease and engagement in at least moderate physical activity (p<0.05 and adjusted O.R>1) at 95% CI.The prevalence of DS use among the outpatients was high compared that of most developed countries. Patient-centered interventions should be enhanced to ensure safety and relevance of use of dietary supplements.