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 Jiménez,  Jara
A1 Rosety Rodríguez, Manuel
A1 Díaz Ordóñez, Antonio Jesús
A1 Ordóñez Muñoz, Francisco Javier
A1 Rosety Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel
A1 Rosety Rodríguez, Ignacio
A2 Anatomía y Embriología Humana
A2 Didáctica de la Educación FísicaPlástica y Musical
A2 Medicina
K1 nonprescription drugs
K1 OTC drugs
K1 OTC medication
K1 over-the-counter medicines
K1 selfcare
K1 self-medication
AB Recently, there has been an increase in the use of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Theconsumption of these medicines can be unsafe, as incorrect self-diagnosis or the ingestion of inappropriatedoses can lead to side effects and the occurrence of adverse reactions and drug–druginteractions. A cross-sectional descriptive observational study was carried out, targeting the entireSpanish population by using an online questionnaire. The results showed that 78.9% of the subjectshad previously taken or were currently taking OTC drugs. This consumption decreased as the age ofthe subjects increased, with a prevalence of 36.4% of subjects aged   71 taking OTC drugs. Analgesicswere the most consumed OTC drugs (49.1%) especially in women, youngsters with non-formaleducational qualifications, and individuals of a low–medium socioeconomic level residing in urbanareas. Measures should be implemented to optimize the safe use of OTC drugs in order to avoid theoccurrence of secondary events associated with the lack of knowledge related to their the usage.
PB MDPI
SN 1660-4601
YR 2021
FD 2021-06
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/25294
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/25294
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 07-nov-2026