A Survey of Knowledge About the Interaction Between Food and Drugs Among the Syrian Population
Rima Ziad Zanboua, Ayat Abbood
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of food-drug interactions among the general public in Syria. A questionnaire was distributed at Tishreen University and published on social media between October and November 2023. A total of 419 responses were collected. 83.3% know that food can affect the effectiveness of medications. 85.2% think that food can increase or slow down the effects of medications. 77.6% believe that the effect of food-drug interactions varies depending on dose, age, and health status. 68.5% believe that food-drug interactions may lead to serious side effects. 45.8% believe that food-drug interactions can lead to death. 49.2% chose that the age group of patients at highest risk for food-drug interactions should be over 60 years of age. The questionnaire results showed that the level of knowledge and awareness of participants about food-drug interactions was good because the overall average of the number of participants who answered correctly was 63.34%.