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The Effect of the Abuse of Over-the-Counter Medications on the Nutritional Status of the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton Students

Neema Dumo*

Background: Society and in turn students have a misconception towards the use of medications to enhance performance. The constant abuse of these drugs is suspected to create complications with the nutritional status of individuals. The problem is that little research is available for students in the East African region. This research aims to determine the correlation between abuse of over-the-counter medications and the nutritional status of students at the university of Eastern Africa, Baraton. The study shall assist in filling the information gap.

Methods: The aim of the study was to obtain insight on the abuse of prescription medication and the effect that it has on dietary patterns. It was a cross-sectional survey study design and was done at the university of Eastern Africa, Baraton with a population of 3124 students in total. A sample size of 377 was formulated using Cochran's formula. 51% of the sample population being female. The study spanned over 3 months and online questionnaires were used. Results were analyzed using SPSS.

Results: 62% abused over-the-counter medications; 66% falling in the normal BMI range. It was found that while the student body heavily participated in the abuse of over-the-counter medications; however, there was no significant correlation with poor nutritional status. This was due to the BMI vs. prescribed medication p value being at 0.103 when the CI is at 0.05. The correlation between appetite and over-the-counter medications is statistically significant at the 5% level of significance (p-value 0.00114).

Discussion: The implication is that while appetite is affected by these medications, the nutritional status of the university of Eastern Africa, Baraton students remains unscaved. There were several limitations including recall bias and non-returning of questionnaires which may have affected the overall results. An East African perspective has effectively been added to the research pool.

Conclusion: The students are affected by the abuse of OTC medications, but the effect is miniscule on their nutrition status.