Beliefs and Usage of Vitamin/mineral Supplements by Graduate Students

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To examine vitamin/mineral supplementation habits of graduate students by genderThe vitamin/mineral supplementation habits of 88 female and 88 male graduate students, 22-45 years, nonpregnant and nonlactating, were compared. All but four rated their health as excellent or good. Thirty-two percent of the women and 17 % of the men reported taking supplements regularly, while 35 % of women and 35 % of men took them occasionally or seldom. A larger percentage of women than men (P=.09) reported taking supplements. Subjects taking supplements indicated that the reasons they did were (descending order) for present illness or to prevent future disease, inadequate diet, increase energy/makes me feel better, to improve athletic performance/build muscle, self-determined health risk, prescribed/recommended by health professional, recommended by nonhealth professional, smoker or other tobacco user, media, and other. A significantly larger (P<.05) percentage of women than men gave the reasons inadequate diet and prescribed/recommended by health professional. The main reasons subjects not taking supplements gave for doing so were that the vitamin and mineral content of diets were adequate and too expensive, with no differences by gender. Sixty-eight percent of those taking supplements, no gender difference, took multiple vitamins plus minerals. The individual supplements taken were (descending order) vitamin C, calcium, vitamin E, iron, chromium picolinate, vitamin B-12, and vitamin A. A larger percentage of women than men reported taking calcium and iron (P<.05) while the reverse was true for vitamin C (P=.06). Few gender differences were found as to why graduate students took or did not take vitamin supplements and what supplement products were taken.