Mehreen Nasir, Aneeqa Mumtaz Joya, Iram Manzoor, Ayesha Younis.
Increase in Nutritional Supplementation for Prevention of COVID-19 in General Population of Lahore.
J Sharif Med Dent Coll Jan ;9(2):76-80.

Objective: To evaluate the rise in supplement intake and their associated factors during COVID-19. Methodology: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Community Medicine, Akhtar Saeed Medical & Dental College, Lahore on the general population of Lahore. A pretested questionnaire containing information regarding socio-demographic data and supplement utilization before and during the pandemic was used to collect data through online Google forms. The sample size was 257 people selected with a 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error. The sample was collected with convenience sampling technique. The data was entered and analyzed in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SSPP) version 23. McNemar test was used to test an increase in supplement intake. Chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression were used to analyze the factors associated with the increase in supplements. Results: A statistically significant increase in supplement intake was observed during COVID-19 (p-value <0.0001). The most commonly used supplement was multivitamins. Female gender and age 26 to 50 years had high odds of supplement use. The most common perceived side effects of supplements were stomach pain, rapid heart rate, and constipation. Conclusion: The usage of supplements for the prevention of COVID-19 increased by 21.4% during the pandemic. Females of age 26 to 50 years were more commonly found to use supplements. Keywords: Supplements. Pandemic. COVID-19.

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