Abstract
Background and Aim:
Alternative treatments for respiratory disorders
attempt to prevent or relieve symptoms and enhance functions. Furthermore,
substantial evidence shows that several herbal medicines have been clinically
effective against respiratory disorders. Thus this study assesses the Saudi
students’ use, beliefs, and practices related to herbal and dietary supplements
for the possible prevention of respiratory infections.
Methods:
A
cross-sectional web-based survey was designed using Google Forms to collect the
data from the healthcare and non-healthcare students currently pursuing their
courses at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The data was collected
over 4 months, from November 2021 to February 2022, using convenience sampling
with a 25-item questionnaire. A statistical package for social sciences, SPSS
26, was used to analyze the data.
Results:
A total of 274
participants responded to the study. The mean age of the respondents was 21.9 ±
3.08 (mean (SD)). The prevalence of herbal medicine (HM) was found to be 62.7%
(n = 172). Around 48.5% (n = 133) of the respondents occasionally used some form
of HM during the period of an illness associated with a respiratory infection.
About 66% of the respondents agreed that using HMs prevents or controls
respiratory symptoms and strengthens immunity. A majority (75.2%) of the
respondents agreed that ginger extract possesses antiviral and immunity-boosting
properties, followed by garlic extract (59.5%), cinnamon (39.4%), and lemongrass
(38.3%). In addition, between 37% and 45.6% of the respondents agreed that
vitamin C and vitamin D intake helps in boosting immunity and reducing the
likelihood of developing respiratory infections. The overall mean of the
positive beliefs and practice score was 9.6 (range 0-14). The mean positive
beliefs and practice scores were significantly higher for males (11.4 ± 3.2)
compared to females (8.6 ± 3.6) (P < .001). The numbers were not
significantly different regardless of the source of information (9.6 ± 3.5),
respondents being in health colleges (8.9 ± 4.1) or non-health colleges (9.8 ±
3.7), them being previously or currently infected (9.7 ± 3.8), the absence of
infection (9.7 ± 3.8), or the respondents possessing a history of chronic
diseases (10.5 ± 3.9) or not (9.5 ± 3.7) (P > .05).
Conclusions:
This study found a relatively high prevalence of herbal and dietary supplements’
use, positive beliefs, and practices to strengthen one’s immunity against
respiratory symptoms.