Evaluation of herbal products and dietary supplements use in patients applying to the chest diseases clinic in a tertiary health institution in Trabzon: A descriptive survey study

The use of herbal products for medicinal reasons is increasing. Especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, patients with chest diseases are turning to herbal products. In this study, it was aimed to determine the rate of use of herbal products and/or dietary supplements, the most used products and the factors affecting the use of these products in patients who applied to the chest diseases clinic. This research was carried out between 15.11.2021 and 01.05.2022 at Karadeniz Technical University Farabi Hospital, Department of Chest Diseases. The descriptive, face-to-face study was conducted with adults with subacute complaints lasting longer than three weeks or with a diagnosis of chronic chest disease. 444 questionnaires without missing data in the questionnaire form were included in the study. "Chi-square" and "Logistic Regression" were performed for data analysis using SPSS 23 statistical package program. Statistical analyzes were made for all participants using "Chi-square" and "Logistic Regression" and also were used "Chi-square" for subgroups determined according to the disease/symptoms that were the reason for admission to the hospital. The mean age of the participants was 50.7±17.6 years, and 73% of them were women. It was determined that 49.3% of the participants used herbal products and/or dietary supplements and the most frequently used products were honey, linden, ginger, lemon and carob. According to the logistic regression results, it was determined that the difference in the use of these products was due to age, education level, place of residence and diagnosis. It was determined that 57.9% of the participants used these products to relieve the symptoms of the disease. It has been found that the sources of information about these products are mostly friends/relatives (53.4%) and the products are mostly obtained from nature (37.4%) or herbal shops (35.6%) and markets (30.6%). Considering that the tendency to use these products is high among patients and that the majority of individuals using these products do not inform their doctor about this issue, it is important for healthcare professionals to question the use of these products.