RT Journal Article
T1 Consumption of over-the-Counter Drugs: Prevalence and Type of Drugs
A1 Sánchez-Sánchez, Eduardo
A1 Fernández-Cerezo, Fátima Lucía
A1 Díaz-Jimenez, Jara
A1 Rosety-Rodriguez, Manuel
A1 Díaz, Antonio Jesús
A1 Ordonez, Francisco Javier
A1 Rosety, Miguel Ángel
A1 Rosety, Ignacio
K1 Nonprescription drugs
K1 OTC drugs
K1 OTC medication
K1 Over-the-counter medicines
K1 Self-care
K1 Self-medication
K1 Analgesics
K1 Socioeconomic status
K1 Medicamentos sin prescripción
K1 Autocuidado
K1 Automedicación
K1 Analgésicos
K1 Clase social
AB Recently, there has been an increase in the use of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. The consumption of these medicines can be unsafe, as incorrect self-diagnosis or the ingestion of inappropriate doses can lead to side effects and the occurrence of adverse reactions and drug-drug interactions. A cross-sectional descriptive observational study was carried out, targeting the entire Spanish population by using an online questionnaire. The results showed that 78.9% of the subjects had previously taken or were currently taking OTC drugs. This consumption decreased as the age of the subjects increased, with a prevalence of 36.4% of subjects aged ≥ 71 taking OTC drugs. Analgesics were the most consumed OTC drugs (49.1%) especially in women, youngsters with non-formal educational qualifications, and individuals of a low-medium socioeconomic level residing in urban areas. Measures should be implemented to optimize the safe use of OTC drugs in order to avoid the occurrence of secondary events associated with the lack of knowledge related to their the usage.
PB MDPI
SN 1661-7827
YR 2021
FD 2021-05-21
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/4411
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/4411
LA en
NO Sánchez-Sánchez E, Fernández-Cerezo FL, Díaz-Jimenez J, Rosety-Rodriguez M, Díaz AJ, Ordonez FJ, et al. Consumption of over-the-Counter Drugs: Prevalence and Type of Drugs. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 21;18(11):5530.
DS RISalud
RD Apr 7, 2025