Utilization of self-medication and prescription drugs among 15-year-old children from the German GINIplus birth cohort.

Autor: Italia S; Department of International Health, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.; Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Neuherberg, Germany., Brand H; Department of International Health, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands., Heinrich J; Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Neuherberg, Germany., Berdel D; Marien-Hospital Wesel, Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Wesel, Germany., von Berg A; Marien-Hospital Wesel, Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Wesel, Germany., Wolfenstetter SB; Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Neuherberg, Germany.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety [Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf] 2015 Nov; Vol. 24 (11), pp. 1133-43. Date of Electronic Publication: 2015 Jul 06.
DOI: 10.1002/pds.3829
Abstrakt: Purpose: The objective was to analyse paediatric drug utilization in relation to self-medication, prescription drugs, and the most reported therapeutic drug categories.
Methods: Data were collected for 3013 children on their utilization of drugs (4-week prevalence) from a German birth cohort study (GINIplus, 15-year follow-up) using a self-administered questionnaire. The drugs were grouped into over-the-counter drugs and prescription drugs, and were classified according to the anatomical therapeutic chemical classification system. Predictors were analysed using a logistic regression model with four independent variables (gender, study area, maternal education, and parental income).
Results: Some 69% of the reported 2489 drugs were over-the-counter drugs, and 31% were prescription drugs. The 4-week prevalence for using any type of drug was 41.0%. Drug categories with high prevalence rates of use were antiinflammatory drugs (10.3%), analgesics (7.1%), and antiallergics (5.0%). Factors associated with higher use of over-the-counter drugs were female gender (OR = 1.56, p < 0.0001) and higher maternal education (OR = 1.60, p = 0.0021; university degree vs. secondary high school). Maternal education was correlated with the use of prescribed or self-medicated antiallergics (positive association) and contraceptives (negative association). The use of antibiotics, methylphenidate, and drugs for thyroid therapy was associated with lower parental income.
Conclusion: The use of over-the-counter drugs in 15-year-old children from the GINIplus birth cohort is very common and is predicted by socioeconomic factors such as maternal education. This has to be considered by health care managers when deciding about the exclusion of over-the-counter drugs (normally used for self-medication) from reimbursement or the deregulation of drug sales.
(Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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