ABSTRACT:
Purpose: ADR reporting of dietary supplements (DS) is essential in preventing vitamin and mineral toxicity. This study aims to assess knowledge of DS products, levels of consumption and occurrence of adverse events among United Arab Emirates (UAE) population. Methods: This is a descriptive and comparative cross sectional community based study conducted using simple random sampling technique among resident in UAE in the period between February and November 2018. The survey was carried out by distributing a pre-designed questionnaire based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data was analysed using SPSS version 23. Chi-square, t-tests as well as the one-way ANOVA and a simple logistic regression were used to test the significance. Results: Approximately 51.3% of the participants use DS products. Vitamins (90.2%), minerals (58.9%) followed by Dietary fibers (31.9%) and Herbal supplements (30.7%) were the most usually used among all categories of DS products. Female gender consumes more DS compared to males gender (P = 0.001). DS products adverse events were encountered by 22.6%. The most prevalent complaints were related to abdominal pain (47. 4%). The prevalence of poor health status was significantly higher in respondents who ever used DS compared to those who did not use DS (P = 0.009). Conclusion: This result demonstrates the urgent need to plan for awareness and educational program among public to improve their knowledge about the correct use of DS, especially in terms of indications and contraindications.