Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health—An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD)
Explorations of current knowledge of dietitians about gut-health interconnection and the role of diet in gut microbiota manipulation are rather scarce in the literature. In this online survey we assessed the perceived and current knowledge of dietitians across Europe about gut microbiota and systemi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/5/621 |
| _version_ | 1797264076346228736 |
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| author | Evdokia K. Mitsou Christina N. Katsagoni Katarzyna Janiszewska |
| author_facet | Evdokia K. Mitsou Christina N. Katsagoni Katarzyna Janiszewska |
| author_sort | Evdokia K. Mitsou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Explorations of current knowledge of dietitians about gut-health interconnection and the role of diet in gut microbiota manipulation are rather scarce in the literature. In this online survey we assessed the perceived and current knowledge of dietitians across Europe about gut microbiota and systemic health, nutrition as a modulator of the gut ecosystem, and the role of probiotics and prebiotics. Pre-graduate dietetic students and other professionals were also invited to participate. A total of 179 full responses were recorded (dietitians, n = 155), mainly from Southern and Western regions. Most participants (>78.0%) reported an average to good level of perceived knowledge, with significant positive correlations between perceived and current knowledge in all sections and overall (<i>p</i> for all <0.05). Nevertheless, a rather low current knowledge scoring of participants about probiotics and prebiotics was observed. Features such as being a dietitian, having a higher educational level as dietitian and working in an academic/research setting were usually associated with higher current knowledge. Further analysis revealed that dietitians had a trend for higher scoring about probiotics and prebiotics compared to pre-graduate students or other professionals. Moreover, for dietitians, working in an academic or research setting was an independent factor for scoring in the highest quartile in all tested sections and overall (<i>p</i> for all <0.05). In conclusion, this online survey shed some light on the current knowledge of dietitians across Europe about gut microbiota parameters, including dietary modulation, highlighting in parallel possible knowledge determinants. Potential areas for future educational efforts in this rather unexplored field were indicated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:23:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-401819ba141745b8b31573ccaae0fb76 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:23:09Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-401819ba141745b8b31573ccaae0fb762024-03-12T16:51:57ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432024-02-0116562110.3390/nu16050621Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health—An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD)Evdokia K. Mitsou0Christina N. Katsagoni1Katarzyna Janiszewska2Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, 17671 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Nutrition, Agia Sofia Children’s Hospital, 11527 Athens, GreeceThe European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD), Gooimeer 4-15, 1411 DC Naarden, The NetherlandsExplorations of current knowledge of dietitians about gut-health interconnection and the role of diet in gut microbiota manipulation are rather scarce in the literature. In this online survey we assessed the perceived and current knowledge of dietitians across Europe about gut microbiota and systemic health, nutrition as a modulator of the gut ecosystem, and the role of probiotics and prebiotics. Pre-graduate dietetic students and other professionals were also invited to participate. A total of 179 full responses were recorded (dietitians, n = 155), mainly from Southern and Western regions. Most participants (>78.0%) reported an average to good level of perceived knowledge, with significant positive correlations between perceived and current knowledge in all sections and overall (<i>p</i> for all <0.05). Nevertheless, a rather low current knowledge scoring of participants about probiotics and prebiotics was observed. Features such as being a dietitian, having a higher educational level as dietitian and working in an academic/research setting were usually associated with higher current knowledge. Further analysis revealed that dietitians had a trend for higher scoring about probiotics and prebiotics compared to pre-graduate students or other professionals. Moreover, for dietitians, working in an academic or research setting was an independent factor for scoring in the highest quartile in all tested sections and overall (<i>p</i> for all <0.05). In conclusion, this online survey shed some light on the current knowledge of dietitians across Europe about gut microbiota parameters, including dietary modulation, highlighting in parallel possible knowledge determinants. Potential areas for future educational efforts in this rather unexplored field were indicated.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/5/621online surveydietitiansknowledgegut-health interconnectiongut microbiota manipulationprobiotics |
| spellingShingle | Evdokia K. Mitsou Christina N. Katsagoni Katarzyna Janiszewska Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health—An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) Nutrients online survey dietitians knowledge gut-health interconnection gut microbiota manipulation probiotics |
| title | Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health—An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) |
| title_full | Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health—An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health—An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health—An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) |
| title_short | Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health—An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) |
| title_sort | knowledge of dietitians on gut microbiota in health an online survey of the european federation of the associations of dietitians efad |
| topic | online survey dietitians knowledge gut-health interconnection gut microbiota manipulation probiotics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/5/621 |
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