Perception, knowledge, and consumption pattern of dietary supplement used during COVID-19 pandemic among black Africans: Perspective of Nigerians

The awareness of the health implication of Covid-19 pandemic marked an increase consumption of various dietary and herbal supplements (DHS) for the deterrence and/or prophylaxis against the novel emerging and infectious disease. However, there is little indication of the usefulness or otherwise of their use in alleviating symptoms of COVID-19.

Objectives

To investigate the pattern and determinants of DHS use among the Nigerian population for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

Design

Cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Setting: Older adolescents and adults residing in Nigeria.

Participants

Participants (n = 645) residing in the Nigeria were recruited from different geo-political zones and various ethnic groups.

Primary and secondary outcomes

Prevalence and determinants for the use of different DHS for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in Nigeria, and sources of information for DHS use.

Results

Most participants (425, 65.9%) believed that dietary supplements are necessary during infectious disease outbreak, but a fewer proportion believed that supplements can be used in conjunction with other drugs to treat Covid-19. Vitamin C was the most known (70.0%) and Vitamin A. The least known (0.3%) dietary supplement Approximately half (50.2%) of the study subjects, more than a third (37.8%) and less than a quarter (22.7%) were aware that Folic acid, vitamin D and vitamin E are DS. Herbal dietary supplements mentioned as known by the study participants included Garlic (46.5%), Ginger (44.7%), Tumeric (36.3%), Moringa (40.0%) and Ginseng (26.3%). Citrus fruit as a DS was recognized by fewer (6.5%) study participants and only 1.6% referred to herbal tea as DHS. In all, 571 (88.5%) of the study participants took DHS during the Covid-19 pandemic with males 1.5 times more likely to take DHS than females (χ² = 3.09, P-value = 0.08, OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 0.95, 2.47) during the pandemic. Participants reported lesser consumption of Selenium (27, 4.2%), Iron (20,3.1%), Zinc (61, 9.5%) and calcium (101, 15.7%) to prevent/treat Covid-19. Majority (271, 42.0%) of the study participants mentioned “health worker” as source of information on DHS while 13% mentioned “Social media”. The sociodemographic determinants of DHS practices used to prevent/treat COVID-19 during the pandemic included older age group of 61–70 years, widows, secondary level of education and not employed.

Conclusions

The findings showed widespread use of DHS for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The use of DHS in this study was mainly guided by health workers with a marginal role of social media and Mass media. These findings call for a more robust consolidative tactic towards DHS to ensure its proper and safe use.