Chronopharmacology: an insight into its knowledge among medical students

Background: Chronopharmacology is the science which deals with the optimization of drug dose that promotes efficacy and minimizes the adverse effects by taking the medications in relation to the biological rhythm. Circadian rhythms can be manipulated to treat certain disorders through chronotherapy. The aim of the study was to explore this knowledge of chronopharmacology and to give an insight about it among medical students.Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted across students of different medical colleges in India by giving semi structured questionnaire.Results: A total of 208 participants (74 males, 134 females) from different batches of MBBS were participated. Majority of them are aware about the term chronopharmacology but their lack of apprehension on chronotherapy was evident throughout the study.Conclusions: There is an inadequate knowledge on chronopharmacology among medical students. Introducing this as a part of undergraduate curriculum can bring out a significant change in the practice of modern medicine.