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Adolescents in Spain: use of medicines and adolescent lifestyles

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Abstract

Objective This study aimed to determine the prevalence of the use of medicines, particularly over-the-counter medicines (OTC medicines), and to analyse its association with different personal and lifestyle aspects. Setting The study sample was an adolescent population in the Valencian Community (East Spain) aged 14–17 years. Method A total of 23,349 adolescents from 229 schools completed a questionnaire (response rate 89.54%). We analysed adolescents who were taking prescribed medicines at the time of the questionnaire, and who were users of OTC medicines that had not been prescribed by a doctor for a particular illness. We estimated this association with several personal and lifestyle factors using simple and multivariate analyses and logistic regression. Results A total of 15.18% of the participants reported that they were taking prescribed medicines when they answered the questionnaire, and 45.38% of the participants reported a frequent use of OTC medicines. Prescribed medicine use is more likely in older adolescents [Relative Prevalence Ratio adjusted by confounding factors (RPRa) 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01–1.10], in those who had tried to lose weight by dieting in the last year (RPRa 1.23, 95% CI: 1.11–1.37), in current smokers (RPRa 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02–1.27), in those who had a serious emotional problem (RPRa 1.85, 95% CI: 1.60–2.16) and in people who presented a chronic pathology (RPRa 8.24, 95% CI: 7.45–9.11). Respondents who reported a frequent use of OTC medicines were more likely to be older (RPRa 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00–1.06), have tried to lose weight by dieting in the last year (RPRa 1.15, 95% CI: 1.06–1.24), be a current smoker (RPRa 1.19, 95% CI: 1.10–1.28), have a serious emotional problem (RPRa 1.48, 95% CI: 1.31–1.67), and watch TV (RPRa 1.24, 95% CI: 1.16–1.32). Conclusions We noted an extensive use of medicines, especially OTC medicines, in adolescents, and an association with some personal and lifestyle factors. We conclude that prevention and early education of a responsible use of medicines should be a public health priority.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the CIBER Research Group CB06/02/0045 CIBER actions—Epidemiology and Public Health. Finally, we thank Dr Timothy F. Chen who revised this article.

Funding

This study was funded by the General Directorate of Public Health of the Regional Ministry of Health (Generalitat Valenciana), in the Valencian Community, East Spain.

Conflicts of interest statement

None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIBER Epidemioloigía y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain

    María Morales-Suárez-Varela, Agustín Llopis-González, Francisco Caamaño-Isorna, Natalia Gimeno-Clemente, Elías Ruiz-Rojo & Luís Rojo-Moreno

  2. Unit of Public Health and Environmental Care, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Valencia, Avda. Vicente Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain

    María Morales-Suárez-Varela, Agustín Llopis-González & Natalia Gimeno-Clemente

  3. Investigation Foundation, Dr. Peset University Hospital, Valencia, Spain

    María Morales-Suárez-Varela

  4. Unit of Public Health, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Francisco Caamaño-Isorna

  5. General Direction of Public Health, Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain

    Elías Ruiz-Rojo

  6. Unit of Alimentary Conduct Disorders, La Fe University Hospital, Valencia, Spain

    Luís Rojo-Moreno

Authors
  1. María Morales-Suárez-Varela
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  2. Agustín Llopis-González
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Correspondence to María Morales-Suárez-Varela.

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Morales-Suárez-Varela, M., Llopis-González, A., Caamaño-Isorna, F. et al. Adolescents in Spain: use of medicines and adolescent lifestyles. Pharm World Sci 31, 656–663 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-009-9324-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-009-9324-x

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