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Adulteration of Weight Loss Supplements by the Illegal Addition of Synthetic Pharmaceuticals.

ABSTRACT: Weight loss supplements that have illegal additives of pharmaceutical drugs or analogues have additional health risks, and customers may not be aware of what they are taking. This research is an essential investigation and quantification of illegally added pharmaceuticals or prescription medications, specifically fluoxetine, phenolphthalein, and sibutramine, in herbal weight loss supplements offered for sale in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this case, 137 weight loss supplements were collected and analyzed in this study. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV absorption detection coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-MS/MS) analyses were used to determine the presence of the pharmaceutical chemicals. Among the weight loss supplements, 15.3% (95% CI: 9.2-21.4) contained undeclared sibutramine, 13.9% (95% CI: 8.01-19.7) contained undeclared phenolphthalein, and 5.1% (95% CI: 1.4-8.8) contained undeclared fluoxetine. Amongst all weight loss supplements, 17.5% (95% CI: 11.07-24) contained significant concentrations of either sibutramine, phenolphthalein, or fluoxetine. Whilst weight loss herbal supplements offered for sale in the UAE have relatively low percentages of undeclared pharmaceuticals, many people take several different supplements daily and may encounter quite high levels of combined exposure to toxic compounds.

SUBMITTER: Jairoun AA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8621677 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundGiven the high prevalence of dietary and herbal supplement (DHS) use in tandem with the growing ease of internet access, patients commonly search online for consumer health information about these products. One common reason for DHSs use includes weight loss. Healthcare providers need to be aware of the quality of online information about DHSs for weight loss so they can adequately counsel their patients and provide them with guidance surrounding the identification of high-quality information resources. This study aimed to assess the quality of online DHSs consumer health information for weight loss that a "typical" patient might access online.MethodsSix search terms were used to generate the first 20 websites on the Google search engine in four countries: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States (n = 480 websites). After applying exclusion criteria, eligible websites were quality assessed using the DISCERN instrument. This tool is comprised of 16 questions, each evaluated on a 5-point scale. The averages and standard deviations for each DISCERN instrument item, in addition to overall summed scores between 15 and 75 were calculated.ResultsAcross 87 eligible websites, the mean summed score was 44.80 (SD = 11.53), while the mean overall DISCERN score of each website was 2.72 (SD = 0.99). In general, websites detailed and achieved their specified aims and described treatment benefits. However, most websites failed to describe the impact of treatment on overall quality of life and the impact of a no treatment option. The highest-scoring websites were largely government or health portal websites, while the lowest-scoring websites were largely commercial in nature.ConclusionHigh variability in DISCERN instrument scores was found across all websites assessed. Healthcare providers should be aware of the fact that their patients may be accessing misinformation online surrounding the use of DHSs for weight loss. Therefore, it is important for healthcare providers to ensure that they are providing their patients with guidance on how to identify high-quality resources online, in order that safe, effective, and evidence-based decisions are made surrounding the use of DHSs for weight loss.

Project description:BackgroundThe measures implemented by governments worldwide to control and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 have impacted the populations and directly influenced individuals' quality of life and consumption habits.ObjectiveThis work investigates the Portuguese population's changes in alcohol, stimulants drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceutical consumptions habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsAn online questionnaire comprising seven groups of questions-with one group referring to alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals consumption habits-was made available to the general adult population of mainland Portugal from the 26th January through the 31st of March 2021. After applying the inclusion criteria, 1666 questionnaires were selected and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.ResultsOur results show that 48.9% of the participants have alcohol drinking habits and increased their alcohol consumption by 16% after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Furthermore, 8.7% of the respondents felt the need to increase their consumption of stimulant drinks, especially coffee, the most consumed stimulant drink (77.9%). We also observed that of the 3.1% of respondents who are usual consumers of illegal substances, 26.9% increased their consumption of these substances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerning pharmaceuticals, 23.2% of the respondents expressed their need to take a therapeutic drug after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The profile of common consumers of alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals in the COVID-19 pandemic context is contrasting and varies according to gender, age, and employment status.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the consumption of alcohol, stimulant drinks, illegal substances, and pharmaceuticals prescribed to treat anxiety, depression, and sleep changes in the Portuguese population. These new consumption patterns have probably aggravated domestic violence, mental diseases, and impairment of family quality of life in the Portuguese population.

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Adulteration of Weight Loss Supplements by the Illegal Addition of Synthetic Pharmaceuticals.

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