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Utilization of self‐medication and prescription drugs among 15‐year‐old children from the German GINIplus birth cohort
Author(s) -
Italia Salvatore,
Brand Helmut,
Heinrich Joachim,
Berdel Dietrich,
Berg Andrea,
Wolfenstetter Silke Britta
Publication year - 2015
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.3829
Subject(s) - medicine , medical prescription , cohort , logistic regression , pharmacoepidemiology , drug , pediatrics , cohort study , socioeconomic status , demography , population , environmental health , psychiatry , pharmacology , sociology
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.