Public knowledge and awareness about food–drug interactions in the northern border region, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Food–drug interactions (FDIs) are underreported which could be due to a variety of factors such as lack of food history, follow-ups, or unawareness. Objective: The present study intended to investigate the degree of existing knowledge and awareness of FDIs among the Saudi people. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the Northern Border Region, Arar city of Saudi, among a random convenient sample of 223 people. Voluntary participants filled a predesigned self-administered questionnaire comprising 22 close-ended questions and 1 open-ended question. Data were collected for a duration of 2 months and descriptive analysis was performed to obtain frequencies of responses. Results: The overall response rate was 89% with a larger number of females and 79% belonging to the 20–30 age group. Of the study population, only 6% reported having experienced such FDIs at least once in their lifetime. Almost 97% believe that they should read the label of any drug before consuming it. More than half of the participants (52%) agreed that acidic foods and beverages such as tomato sauce, tea, coffee, and citrus juices affect drug absorption and may cause food/drug interaction. About 62% believe that alcohol and drugs should never be clubbed. Conclusion: It is hereby shown that FDIs' awareness and knowledge were poor among the Saudi population. This, however, can be addressed as a high proportion of respondents had a positive attitude toward reading the drug label before use.