Knowledge and perceptions of probiotics among medical and dietetics students: a cross-sectional study.

Dietetics students achieved a higher overall knowledge score on probiotics than medical students.

• Study conducted among 107 students: 55 medical students and 52 dietetics students at the Medical University of Bialystok.
• A 34-item questionnaire was used with a maximum score of 51 points.
• Dietetics students achieved a median score of 31 points versus 27 points for medical students (p = 0.005).
• The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison; p < 0.05 was considered significant.
• The overall level of knowledge was described as low across both groups.

Dietetics students more frequently correctly identified the definition of probiotics compared to medical students.

• 94% of dietetics students versus 69% of medical students correctly identified the definition of probiotics (p = 0.002).
• Chi-square test was used for this comparison.
• This represented one of several areas where dietetics students outperformed medical students.

Dietetics students more often correctly identified appropriate probiotic product labeling and distinguished fermented foods from probiotics.

• 77% of dietetics students versus 44% of medical students correctly identified appropriate product labeling (p < 0.001).
• 65% of dietetics students versus 20% of medical students correctly distinguished fermented foods from probiotics (p < 0.001).
• These were among the largest observed differences between the two groups.

Dietetics students demonstrated greater knowledge of strain specificity and SIBO compared to medical students.

• 65% of dietetics students versus 22% of medical students correctly answered questions about strain specificity (p < 0.001).
• 75% of dietetics students versus 42% of medical students correctly answered questions about SIBO (p < 0.001).

Dietetics students outperformed medical students on knowledge of selected clinical indications for probiotics.

• Differences were observed regarding clinical indications including IBS, atopic dermatitis, acne, ulcerative colitis, and upper respiratory tract infections.
• All differences in clinical indication knowledge favored dietetics students.
• Statistical significance was reached for each of these clinical indication comparisons (p < 0.05).

Medical students more frequently reported recommending probiotics to others compared to dietetics students.

• 73% of medical students versus 48% of dietetics students reported recommending probiotics to others (p = 0.009).
• This was one area where medical students scored higher than dietetics students.
• This finding suggests medical students recommend probiotics at higher rates despite demonstrating lower knowledge scores.