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. 2024 Feb 23;16(5):621.
doi: 10.3390/nu16050621.

Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health-An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD)

Evdokia K Mitsou  1 , Christina N Katsagoni  2   3 , Katarzyna Janiszewska  3
Affiliations

Knowledge of Dietitians on Gut Microbiota in Health-An Online Survey of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD)

Evdokia K Mitsou et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

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 (p 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 (p 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.

Keywords: dietitians; gut microbiota manipulation; gut-health interconnection; knowledge; online survey; prebiotics; probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

K.J. declares that the EFAD received an unrestricted educational grant from Danone to establish a Health Through Gut course, and her role in EFAD during the preparation of the manuscript has been partially covered by this grant. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of correct responses for all participants (N = 179) and dietitians (n = 155) for the 22 questions included in the section about the role of gut health in overall health. The dotted frame indicates questions with a more limited rate of correct responses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of correct responses for all participants (N = 179) and dietitians (n = 155) for the 11 questions included in the section about the role of nutrition as a gut microbiota modulator. The dotted frame indicates questions with a more limited rate of correct responses.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of correct responses for all participants (N = 179) and dietitians (n = 155) for the 12 questions included in the section about the role of probiotics in health. The dotted frame indicates questions with a more limited rate of correct responses.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Number of correct responses for all participants (N = 179) and dietitians (n = 155) for the 7 questions included in the section about the role of prebiotics in health. The dotted frame indicates questions with a more limited rate of correct responses.
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