Dietary supplements use and related factors of preschoolers in 3 korean cities

Probiotic supplementation in healthy pre-school-aged children: Prevalence and predictors

AIM

Probiotics have been shown to prevent or treat a number of paediatric health problems; however, not much is known about how probiotics are used in the community. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and main predictors of probiotic supplementation among healthy pre-school-aged children.

METHODS

Parents of 4- or 5-year-olds residing in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire between February and May 2020. There were 469 responses concerning 494 children eligible for analysis. Prevalence was categorised as lifetime exposure and recent exposure. Predictors were determined through multiple logistic regression modelling.

RESULTS

Almost half (47.4%) of the children had ever been exposed to probiotics and 14.9% had taken probiotics in the previous month. The strongest predictors of lifetime probiotic exposure were parental lifetime probiotic use (OR 13.3; 95% CI 7.4-24.1) and an interaction between functional food consumption and parental lifetime probiotic use (OR 5.6; 95% CI 2.6-12.1). The strongest predictor of recent probiotic exposure was parental recent probiotic use (OR 13.3; 95% CI 5.7-30.8).

CONCLUSIONS

This study illustrates the high prevalence of probiotic exposure among healthy pre-school-aged children in the ACT and emphasises the relationship between parental use of probiotics and exposure in children. These findings will allow comparison and analysis of trends over time. Practitioners should be aware of the evidence for and against probiotics as these findings suggest a high level of acceptability among parents.

Probiotic supplementation in well children: A scoping review

Probiotic supplements have been suggested as therapy for a range of health problems in children. This article aims to map the literature around probiotic use in well children, with a focus on prevalence. Using a scoping review methodology, we searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, HealthSource and SAGE, as well as Google and MedNar for grey literature, in July 2018. We followed the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews and used the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool to assess articles for quality. Seven studies including a total of 24,742 children were identified. The prevalence of probiotic use ranged from 4% to 51%. The most common predictors of use were parental probiotic use, and higher maternal education and income. Only one small study reported the strains of probiotics used. Neither the reasons for using probiotics, nor parental perceptions of efficacy were adequately explored. Most parents obtained their information about probiotics from the Internet or family members. Despite the number of children in the community reported to have used probiotics, there are few well-designed and/or well-reported studies of prevalence, and inadequate data concerning the strains of probiotics used, reasons for their use and their perceived efficacy.

Dietary supplements: a great menace of our time or golden remedy? A cross-sectional study amongschool-aged children

Introduction

Dietary supplements (DS) are commonly used as a remedy for various health issues as they are widely advertised and available.

Aim

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of DS use among school-aged children in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. Additionally, we evaluated the parents’ motivations for DS administration, the frequency of the use of specific compounds and the influence of child’s history of allergy on DS use.

Material and methods

Children aged 6–7 years who attended the first grade of primary schools in Warsaw were included into the study. Forty-two out of 170 primary schools in Warsaw were randomly selected of which 38 agreed to participate. The research tool was a self-administered questionnaire.

Results

Half of the studied children received DS in the previous 6 months. Fatty acids were the most commonly administered DS (49.8%). The most common reason for administering DS was prevention of diseases (69.1%). The total household income correlated positively with the DS use. History of food allergy was one of the factors which increased the risk of DS use, whereas diagnosis of asthma did not correlate with a higher frequency of DS use.

Conclusions

This study shows the need to educate patients about medical indications for DS use and expected benefits in the specific indications.

The status of dietary supplements intake in korean preschool children: data from the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey 2010-2012

PURPOSE

The use of dietary supplements (DS) has increased in most nations. We investigated the amount of DS intake in the Korean population by analyzing a national survey, to support the preparation of a national institutional strategy regarding DS intake and marketing.

METHODS

The data of the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (a year between 2010 and 2012) were investigated, analyzing the rate of DS intake, and the characteristics of the intake group and non-intake group in Korean preschool children.

RESULTS

The intake rate of DS was 49.0-54.2% (1,313,874-1,491,240) and 19.6-30.3% (250,603-421,922) in children from 1 to 6 years old and in those less than 1 year, respectively, from 2010 to 2012. The highest intake rate was observed in the age group of five. The mean age was significantly higher in the DS intake group than in the non-intake group. Intake of essential nutrients, minerals, and vitamins were also higher in the DS intake group. The level of family income was significantly associated with the intake rate (p<0.001). In children less than 1 year, probiotics accounted for the highest intake of DS.

CONCLUSION

Korean preschool children have high consumption of DS. Therefore, problems may arise from the waste of money purchasing unnecessary DS, and from the overuse of DS in preschoolers who do not require DS intake. We hope these results can be used to produce an appropriate national institutional strategy regarding DS intake and marketing.