Abstract
Introduction: Dietary supplements are an important source of vitamins and minerals that may help prevent several disease-causing biological pathways involved in one-carbon metabolism, including the suppression of cell proliferation, oxidative stress, nitric oxide synthesis, and angiogenesis. The present study aimed to assess the association between the intake of folate, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, and minerals and the consumption of alcohol among university students.
 Methods: This study was participated by students aged 19-22 years from the University of Sarajevo between 2017 and 2018. Using a questionnaire, we interviewed in a week them to collect information regarding age, socio-economic status, alcohol consumption, and dietary supplement intake. Then, we investigated the association between the baseline intake of folate, B vitamins, and minerals and that of alcohol consumption.
 Results: Most students consumed Vitamin B supplements (32%) and folic acid (10%). Dietary multivitamins and minerals were less prevalent in more than a year, accounting for 186 (23.9%) and 174 (24.3%) students, respectively, than those in less than a year. In a year, <20% of students consumed multivitamins 129 (16.6%) and minerals 116 (15.3%). Meanwhile, 256 (27.1%) students consumed alcohol. The Chi-square test of independence showed that drinking habits and the intake of such dietary supplements had no association (p > 0.05).
 Conclusion: An extremely low percentage of the participating students in Canton Sarajevo used dietary supplements of Vitamin B, folate, multivitamins, and minerals. Moreover, alcohol consumption and dietary supplement intake were not associated. Further research is needed to establish the best cost-effective public health system to achieve a sufficient intake of dietary supplements.
Highlights
Dietary supplements are an important source of vitamins and minerals that may help prevent several disease-causing biological pathways involved in one-carbon metabolism, including the suppression of cell proliferation, oxidative stress, nitric oxide synthesis, and angiogenesis
Alcohol may alter the status of folate and/or Vitamin B12 due to their critical roles in one-carbon metabolism [8,9]
The folate- and Vitamin B12-dependent enzyme methionine synthase stands at the junction of two key processes responsible for maintaining DNA integrity, and these processes are the synthesis of purines and thymine, and methylation reactions through S-adenosylmethionine
Summary
Dietary supplements are an important source of vitamins and minerals that may help prevent several disease-causing biological pathways involved in one-carbon metabolism, including the suppression of cell proliferation, oxidative stress, nitric oxide synthesis, and angiogenesis. Total homocysteine (tHcy) is a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor It is elevated in patients who have chronic alcoholism and experienced falls following alcohol withdrawal; alcohol may have a deleterious effect on health by increasing the tHcy levels. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of usage of dietary supplements containing Vitamin B12, folic acid, multivitamins, and minerals in students from the University of Sarajevo, and to assess their alcohol consumption and its relationship with supplement intake
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