• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.341-355
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The consumption of dietary supplements has shown an increase among young people in their 20s. We aimed to compare the use of dietary supplements and related factors between Chinese international and Korean college students living in South Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We conducted online surveys of 400 Chinese international students and 452 Korean college students from January to February 2021. We analyzed the factors related to the use of dietary supplements by these students using multi-group structural equation modeling and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Approximately 65% of the Chinese international students and 93% of the Korean college students consumed dietary supplements at least once in the year preceding the survey. The common types of dietary supplements consumed by both groups of students were vitamin and mineral supplements, Lactobacillus products, and red ginseng products. Structural equation modeling showed that perception of the consumption of dietary supplements by family and friends positively influenced attitude toward dietary supplements. This effect was higher for Korean college students than for Chinese international students (P < 0.01). Attitude toward dietary supplements positively influenced their use, and this effect was higher for Chinese international students than for Korean college students (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the use of dietary supplements by Chinese international students was significantly associated with age, self-reported health status, interest in health, perception of and attitude toward dietary supplements, and length of residence in South Korea. Among Korean college students, it was associated with exercise frequency and attitude toward dietary supplements. CONCLUSION: This study showed significant differences in the use of dietary supplements and related factors between Chinese international and Korean college students. Therefore, nutrition education programs on dietary supplements need to have differentiated content for each group. Such differences also suggest that the industry should consider the relevant characteristics of college students while developing and marketing dietary supplements.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.347-355
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• 2017

Objectives: Although dietary supplements use in Korea has been rapidly increasing and women are more likely to take dietary supplements more than men, only a few studies have been conducted to investigate factors contributing to gender differences in dietary supplement use in the Korean population. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of dietary supplement use and also identify gender-specific key factors that contribute to it using the data of the 4th KNHANES. Methods: Subjects were divided into user and non-user groups according to the answer given to the question that asked whether they had used any dietary supplement for more than 2 weeks on a regular basis during the previous year. Factors related to dietary supplement use were examined by general characteristics, health behavior and eating behavior. Results: Prevalence of dietary supplement use was 13.6% for men and 20.6% for women. Users were more likely to be middle-aged, have higher income and education, have a spouse, or reside in dong areas in both men and women. Regarding health behaviors, men with desirable lifestyle behavior were more likely to take dietary supplements, while men who smoked were less likely to take dietary supplements. Regarding disease history, both men and women with a current disease had higher odds of taking supplements. With regard to dietary behavior, frequent eating out and nutrition attitude were associated with higher odds of taking supplements in both men and in women. Conclusions: Health or dietary behavior related factors that were associated with taking supplements differed by gender. These findings can be useful for planning gender-specific dietary education and health programs.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.727-732
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• 1997

Dietary supplements are generally defined as concentrated sources of nutrients prescribed in addition to the daily diet to increase nutrient intake. These supplements are usually in the form of tablets, capsules, pills, powders, or liquids. Sales of dietary supplements are roughly $4 billion per year in the United States. Nearly 4 out of every 10 adults use dietary supplements regularly. This article is to report the pros and cons in the use of dietary supplements and a brief overview of current law, proposed regulations, and related activities in the United States. It provides what information should be known to the public before federal regulations governing health claims are made . These regulations may decide whether health food industries or pharmaceutical companies can make claims about the function of nutrients.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.946-955
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• 2001

This study was performed to investigate the dietary supplement use and related factors by college students attending in web class. One thousand four hundred college students(male: 632, female: 768) were participated in this study. The questionnaire about dietary supplements use, demographic characteristics, eating behavior, health-related lifestyles, nutrient intake was self-administered and the data were obtained via internet or mail. Dietary supplements were taken by 63.6%(male : 62.2%, female : 64.2%) of subjects. The higher concern about nutrition and health, the higher the incidence of dietary supplements taking was(p < 0.05). Dietary supplement users were satisfied more than non-users about meal served(p < 0.05). Supplements used by most male students were lactic acid beverage, Chinese medicine, geigogi geisoju and multivitamin, Chinese medicine, fiber-processed flood for female students. Most of dietary supplement users answered that the sources of information on supplements were 'friend, family or relatives' and 'TV or radio'. Dietary supplement users were taking significantly more nutrients compared to non-use. Therefore, it may be necessary to provide nutrition information and education which show that balanced diet is the best nutritional strategy for health promotion and diet supplements can be helpful in deficient state nutrients.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.672-681
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• 2008

The principal objective of this study was to assess the current status of elementary students' intake of dietary supplements, in an effort to diagnose any overnutrition, and to employ the results as basic data for the establishment of a balanced nutritional education. A survey was conducted by using a questionnaire administered to 734 elementary students’ parents in Seoul, and the analyzed results were as follows: Most parents believed that their nutritional knowledge was better than the norm(91.5%). However, almost half of the parents(49.2%) were feeding certain dietary supplements to their children, despite their perception that their children were already healthy, and were not recognizing any significant beneficial effects from those supplements. The most popular dietary supplements being fed were vitamin complexes. The majority of children took at least one type of dietary supplements at a monthly cost of approximately 10,000${\sim}$30,000 won. These results revealed the potential for overnutrition in some of the elementary students as the result of dietary supplement intake; thus, further studies involving assessments of risk for dietary supplement overconsumption in children and proper dietary education for the parents are suggested.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.330-337
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the status of consumption and consumer satisfaction of dietary fiber supplements. The survey was conducted using a self-recorded questionnaire developed to meet the purpose of this study. The characteristics of the subjects who have taken dietary fiber supplements in the past are as follows: distributions of socioeconomic variables showed that the highest-ranked group(the group that reported the highest consumption of dietary fiber supplements) was professionals with a college degree or higher degree. In addition, the highest-ranked group were the most healthy, nonsmokers and reported drinking habits of '1~2 times/week'. Regarding the health status of those surveyed, digestive disease and constipation were the most common complaints. The majority responded with 'health concerns' to the question that asked the reason for their purchase of the dietary fiber supplements. Three major places respondents could find dietary fiber supplements were 'through the internet', 'the market', 'the pharmacy' in descending order. The compositions of dietary fiber products varied. 'konjac', 'cellulose', 'psyllium husks' were the most popular components consumed by the subjects. The average duration of product consumption was less than one month. In terms of satisfaction levels(satisfaction was ranked from 1 to 5), 'taste' and 'type' scored the highest in satisfaction levels while 'price' ranked the lowest. When subjects were asked about self-awareness regarding the physiological efficacy of dietary fiber supplements, the responses were positive in 'bowel movement' and 'weight loss'. Further research is required to improve the quality of dietary fiber supplements in order to assist consumers in selecting the appropriate products.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2011

Recently, westernized diet and lifestyles have led to obesity and various adult diseases resulting in a negative influence on the quality of life. There has been an increased interest in choosing proper diet and regular exercise in order to lead a healthy life. The number of people looking for dietary supplements has increased steadily. Dietary supplements are products intended to help maintain or improve the health of consumers. However, if customers take dietary supplements excessively, they may be harmful due to side effects, misuse, abuse and overdose. I performed a toxicologic review of the dietary supplements, glucosamine and chitosan, which are widely used in the country in order to provide the proper understanding of safety of these products.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2013

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of musculoskeletal problems in elderly Korean women and their actual and current use of dietary supplements by conducting a descriptive survey. Methods: The 1-month study began on April 3, 2012. A total of 150 elderly women from City D responded to the survey questionnaire used in this study. Results: Among the respondents, 55.3% used dietary supplements, although they had not consulted a physician for a definitive diagnosis of their condition but reported a self-perceived musculoskeletal problem instead. In addition, they engaged in healthy behaviors such as exercising and dietary supplement intake, without receiving any medical treatment. Compared with the nonusers, the dietary supplement users self-perceived a relatively more serious musculoskeletal problem (t =4.566, p<.001). Among the most commonly used supplements, multivitamins ranked first, followed by glucosamine and omega-3. Conclusion: Nurses should thoroughly monitor and maintain a positive attitude toward their patients' use of dietary supplements in order to appropriately educate them about the proper use of supplements.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.152-157
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• 2022

Schisandra chinensis and its fruits have been used as a traditional herbal medicine to treat liver dysfunction, fatigue, and chronic coughs. Several in vitro and in vivo studies suggested that dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans present in Schisandra fruits strongly inhibit CYP3A4 activity. However, reports on the inhibitory potential of dietary Schisandra supplements against CYP3A activity are limited despite their increasing consumption as dietary supplements. In this study, we evaluated the CYP3A-inhibitory potential of four dietary Schisandra supplements in human liver microsomes. At a concentration of 0.05 mg/mL, Schisandra supplements from Nature's Way, Swanson, Planetary Herbals, and Only Natural inhibited CYP3A activity by 93.9, 70.8, 33.6, and 24.8%, respectively. Nature's Way, which exhibited the strongest inhibition against CYP3A, had the highest contents of gomisin B and gomisin C, which potently inhibit CYP3A activity. The in vivo pharmacokinetics of this product should be examined to determine whether the clinical relevance of inhibiting CYP3A activity by dietary Schisandra supplementation.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 2010

There has been little data on the prevalence of supplement use and the characteristics of the dietary supplement users in the Republic of Korea. This study presents the prevalence and the details of any dietary supplement use and the characteristics of the adults who use dietary supplements in the Republic of Korea. Between May 18 and June 16, 2006, nationwide and population-weighted personal interviews with 6,201 adult aged from 30 to 69 years were conducted and the final sample consisted of 3,000 people with a 49.8% response rate. We examined the prevalence and details of the use of dietary supplements and the characteristics of those who use the dietary supplement among adults. About sixty two percent of adults had taken any dietary supplement during the previous 12-month period in 2006. The most commonly reported dietary supplement was ginseng, followed by multivitamins, glucosamine, probiotics, and vitamin C. Female (versus male), an older age group, a higher family income, those living in metropolitan cities, those with marital experience, those with a higher level of education, and those having medical problems had a greater likelihood of reporting the use of any dietary supplements. The particular relationships differed depending on the type of supplement. The most Korean adults took one more dietary supplement and the dietary supplement users had different demographic and health characteristics compared to those of the nonusers. Research on diet supplements by the medical community is needed in the future.