20.500.12556/DKUM-96411 Knowledge of dietary supplements and attitudes towards complementary medicine among university students a cross-sectional study Despite the increasing global consumption of dietary supplements (DS) and the growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), there is a significant gap in evidence-based knowledge and understanding of these practices among university students, particularly those in non-health-focused programs. This gap may lead to misconceptions, misuse, and unsafe practices, which necessitate targeted educational interventions. The presented cross-national comparative study assessed knowledge of DS and attitudes towards CAM among 809 university students from Croatia and Slovenia, including health-focused and non-health-focused study programs by use of validated questionnaires. The study integrated DS and CAM within the same analytical framework. Assessed knowledge on DS was moderate, with an average of 71.2% correct answers. Slovenian students from health-focused studies achieved the highest scores, while Croatian students from non-health focused studies scored the lowest values. Misconceptions persisted across all groups, while usage of supplements was widespread. Attitudes toward CAM were overall mildly positive, where Slovenian students from health-focused studies reported the most favorable views. Attitudes were more strongly associated with supplement use than with knowledge, indicating that personal experience and cultural context shape perceptions more than formal education. Our findings challenge the usual assumption that higher knowledge automatically leads to rational health decisions. dietary supplements complementary and alternative medicine university students knowledge attitudes prehranska dopolnila komplementarna in alternativna medicina študenti znanje stališča true true true MDPI Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Znanstveno delo 2026-01-06 11:00:26 2026-01-07 11:00:07 2026-01-08 03:19:17 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 str. 1-15 št. 1, št. članka 61 Letn. 15 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2025-12-03 2025-12-09 2025-12-24 613.292:615.8 263465219 10.3390/foods15010061 2304-8158 2025-foods-DS_CAM.pdf 2025-foods-DS_CAM.pdf 1 91474C641ADDCA90959F95CD55926C7B 712744e5f59bc9c5665af8de759f8ad181d2f20673b6c7716e6d34b9a261e30b 8fbd8360-eae6-11f0-a407-00155d580e02 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=201785 Fakulteta za zdravstvene vede Medicinska fakulteta 0 0 0