The objectives of this study were to 1) identify the prevalence of dietary supplements (DS) among middle-aged and older adults; 2) determine attitudes toward DS and patterns of DS usage among middle-aged and older adults; and 3) assess the association of sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors with DS attitudes and DS usage. A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken among middle-aged and older adults. Data were collected by an online self-administered pretested questionnaire used as a study tool and distributed to respondents via social media applications. The DS usage prevalence among 501 respondents was 50.7%, and 53.5% of participants reported a positive attitude toward DS. The positive attitudes and higher usage of dietary supplements were statistically significant in higher proportions among older adults compared to middle-aged individuals. Significantly lower proportion of middle aged (54.9%) reported taking DS daily compared to 59.9% of older adults. A significant difference in the type of DS among the two groups was found for Omega-3 (p<0.001), minerals (p = 0.004), proteins (p = 0.002), fibers (p = 0.002), phytonutrients (p = 0.007), and probiotics (p = 0.015), with a higher proportion of middle-aged respondents reporting their use compared to older adults. Dietary supplement usage is a prevalent phenomenon among older adults and the middle-aged population. However, some undesirable practices regarding their use still exist in the community. Thus, there is a need of focussed health education to enhance attitudes and improve practices regarding the use of DS.
Copyright: © 2023 Alhazmi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.