Abstract
Objectives: The utilization rate of herbal and dietary supplements among the Saudi population is reported to be high. However, the utilization rate and types of herbal and dietary supplements during the COVID-19 pandemic are largely unknown. Methods: This was an online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study that used convenience sampling and social media platforms (Telegram®, Twitter®, and WhatsApp®) to disseminate a 12-item questionnaire across the Saudi general public aged 18 years and above. The questionnaire inquired about the sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education, geographical location), presence of chronic health conditions and the use of prescription medications, awareness of the viral nature of COVID-19 infection and its common symptoms, and the commonly utilized herbal and/or dietary supplements. Results: Sixty-four percent of the 1473 participants reported using herbal and/or dietary supplements for the purpose of boosting their immune system to prevent COVID-19 infection. In addition, 88.2% of the respondents were misinformed about the manifestation of COVID-19 symptoms. Most of the participants were Saudi (91.9%), aged 49 years and younger (83%), female (52%), and healthy (81%). Honey (46%), lemon (45%), ginger (36%), vitamin C (32%), black seed (26%), garlic (26%), and turmeric (19%) were the most commonly used herbal and/or dietary supplements by the participants. Saudi nationals (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.6, p = 0.02), older adults (OR = 1.30, 95% CI:1.10 to 1.55, p = 0.002), and those taking prescription medications had higher odds of using dietary and/or herbal supplements (OR = 3.31, 95% CI: 2.61 to 4.18, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The utilization rate of herbal and dietary supplements among the Saudi public during the COVID-19 pandemic is high. Future studies should examine the impact of different public awareness campaigns aimed at improving the public knowledge of the risk and benefits associated with the use of different commonly utilized herbal and dietary products identified in this study.
Highlights
In December 2019, pneumonia associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and has spread rapidly ever since to the rest of the world [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Most of the participants (98.57%) correctly believed that the COVID-19 infection is viral, while only 1.43% believed that the infection is bacterial
Sixty-four percent (n = 955) of the participants reported using natural products (NP) during the COVID-19 pandemic because they think it might boost their immunity against the infection
Summary
In December 2019, pneumonia associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and has spread rapidly ever since to the rest of the world [1,2,3,4,5,6]. In Saudi Arabia, the first COVID-19 case was registered on 2 March. 2020 [2], and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11. March 2020 [3,4]. As of 27 February 2021, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia was 377,000 with 368,000 recovered cases and 6483 deaths [7,8]. In the absence of effective treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the public health sectors in almost all countries have taken different preventive measures to contain the infection, such as quarantine measures, social distancing, and face masks [9].
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