Drug–food and drug–alcohol interactions: Pharmacists’ knowledge gaps and patient safety concerns in the United Arab Emirates

Pharmacists play a critical role in promoting medication safety through patient counselling and identification of potential interactions. However, knowledge regarding drug-food interactions (DFIs) and drug-alcohol interactions (DAIs) among community pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not been previously examined. This cross-sectional study assessed pharmacists' knowledge of DFIs, DAIs, and drug-food administration timing, and identified factors associated with higher knowledge levels using a validated self-administered 24-items questionnaires. The survey assessed sociodemographic and professional characteristics, knowledge of DFIs, DAIs, and drug-food timing. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses were performed using SPSS v28.0 to determine predictors of total knowledge scores. Pharmacists demonstrated moderate knowledge, with mean scores of 8.62/12 for DFIs, 5.84/12 for drug-food timing, and 4.70/6 for DAIs (total score 19.16/30). High awareness was observed for interactions such as caffeine-diazepam (76.3%) and methotrexate-alcohol (81.0%), whereas only 25.9% identified potassium-rich foods' interaction with spironolactone. Higher knowledge scores were associated with being male (p < 0.001), aged 20-29 years (p = 0.041), having ≥6 years of experience (p = 0.004), and higher self-perceived knowledge (p < 0.001). These findings highlight important knowledge gaps that may affect patient safety. Targeted continuing education and integration of DFI/DAI content into pharmacy curricula are recommended to strengthen counselling practices and improve medication safety outcomes.