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Self‐rated health as predictor of medicine use in adolescence
Author(s) -
Holstein Bjørn E.,
Hansen Ebba Holme,
Andersen Anette,
Due Pernille
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.023
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1099-1557
pISSN - 1053-8569
DOI - 10.1002/pds.1529
Subject(s) - medicine , psychosocial , population , family medicine , demography , psychiatry , environmental health , sociology
Abstract Purpose To examine the association between self‐rated health (SRH) and medicine use for four common complaints: headache, stomach‐ache, difficulties in getting to sleep and nervousness, in a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Methods The study population comprised of all students in the fifth, seventh and ninth grade (mean ages 11.6, 13.6 and 15.6 years) in a random sample of schools in Denmark 2002, participation rate 90.6%, n = 4.824. The students reported health problems, medicine use, social and psychosocial conditions in an anonymous and standardized questionnaire. The outcome measure was self‐reported medicine use during the past month and the determinant was SRH measured by one item. Results There was an association between poor/fair SRH and medicine use for headache and stomach‐ache. The associations remained statistically significant even after adjustment for frequency of the complaint for which the medicine was used: OR (95%CI) for medicine use for headache was 1.54 (1.10–2.14) among boys with poor/fair SRH and 1.50 (1.12–2.03) among girls with poor/fair SRH. A similar association was found between poor SRH and medicine use for stomach‐ache for both boys (OR = 3.41 (2.09–5.55)) and girls (OR = 1.90 (1.36–2.67). Further, there was an association between poor/fair SRH and medicine use for difficulties in getting to sleep among girls, OR = 2.66 (1.26–5.63) but not among boys. There was no association between SRH and medicine use for nervousness. Conclusion Poor/fair SRH is associated with medicine use for aches among Danish adolescents. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.