Assessment of calcium intake and perception of calcium-rich food among healthcare students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science (KSAU-HS).

Abstract

Calcium is an essential mineral compound and one of the most abundant minerals in the human body. A long-term low calcium intake predisposes the bones to fractures, osteopenia, and osteoporosis. This study was conducted to assess calcium intake and knowledge of calcium-related information among healthcare students in King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-Hs). This cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire that has been distributed as a soft copy of 289 participants aged 19years or older and studied at KSAU-Hs. The questionnaire had three sections assessing demographical data, calcium knowledge, and calcium intake. The knowledge outcome variables were good and poor, and participants were categorized as good knowledge if they answer 11 or more of the 18 questions, while the intake outcome variables were sufficient and insufficient intake based on the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of 1000mg. Among all variables, 91.7% of the participants were found to be having an insufficient intake, and 74% were classified to be poor knowledge. As for knowledge, the highest score under the "Good" category were females 32.7% compared to males 22.2%, P = 0.05. The average intake of calcium was 497mg/day. In terms of sufficient calcium intake, males scored 11.9% compared to females who scored 1.9% with a P value of 0.00. The results of this study have shown that there are significantly insufficient calcium intake and poor knowledge about calcium among healthcare students. The results indicate the urge to improve calcium intake and calcium knowledge among the healthcare students.