{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T10:09:51Z","timestamp":1788775791310,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788739200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Dietary supplement use is common in middle and later adulthood, but factual safety knowledge may not necessarily translate into safety-related behavior. This pilot study examined supplement use, supplement safety knowledge, information-source pathways, and self-reported safety-related behaviors among adults aged 40 years and older. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in Poland between December 2025 and April 2026 in a convenience sample of 150 adults aged \u226540 years. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed associations of a five-item factual supplement safety knowledge score and professional or digital information-source use with proactive supplement safety information seeking and other supplementation behaviors. Results: Current supplement use was reported by 113\/150 participants (75.3%); among current users with available supplement count data, 86\/111 (77.5%) used at least two supplements simultaneously. The knowledge score was not independently associated with proactive supplement safety information seeking (aOR 0.93 per one-point increase, 95% CI 0.69\u20131.25; p = 0.641). Professional information-source use was associated with the original composite information-seeking outcome (aOR 4.03, 95% CI 1.51\u201310.77; BH q = 0.033) and with lower odds of self-initiated supplementation (aOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.13\u20130.79; BH q = 0.042). However, in an additional non-overlap sensitivity analysis restricted to internet\/leaflet safety information seeking, professional-source use was not independently associated with the outcome (aOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.33\u20131.94; p = 0.627). Conclusions: In this convenience sample, the study-specific factual knowledge score did not show a clear independent association with proactive supplement safety information seeking. Associations involving professional information sources depended partly on outcome definition, while the association with lower self-initiation remained. Given the pilot nature, modest sample size, non-probability recruitment, self-reported measures, and lack of product-level verification, the findings are hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in larger, prospectively characterized samples.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18172921","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T09:23:37Z","timestamp":1788773017000},"page":"2921","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Supplement Safety Knowledge, Information Sources, and Self-Reported Safety-Related Behaviors Among Adults Aged 40 Years and Older: A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Beata","family":"Walczyk","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health and Medical Sciences, VIZJA University, Okopowa 59, 01-043 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7879-300X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Agnieszka","family":"Bia\u0142ek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health and Medical Sciences, VIZJA University, Okopowa 59, 01-043 Warsaw, Poland"},{"name":"The Kielanowski Institute of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, Polish Academy of Sciences, Instytucka 3, 05-110 Jab\u0142onna, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sto\u015b, K., Wo\u017aniak, A., Rychlik, E., Zi\u00f3\u0142kowska, I., G\u0142owala, A., and O\u0142tarzewski, M. 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