Prevalence of over-the-counter drug abuse among adults in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22317/jcms.v7i6.1098Keywords:
prevalence, over-the-counter, drug, abuse, adults, JeddahAbstract
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of over-the-counter drug abuse among an adult population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, and a validated electronic self-administered questionnaire was administered to the general population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from June to August, 2020.
Results: Overall, 400 participants were included in this study. The majority (94%) reported the use of over-the-counter drugs, of which 15.2% reported drug-related problems following over-the-counter drug use. The most frequently preferred over-the-counter drug group was analgesics/antipyretics (90.4%). More than three-quarters of our study participants stated that they read the instructions provided in the leaflet accompanying their medications carefully before use (76.3%).
Conclusion: We found a highly significant prevalence of over-the-counter medication use, which exceeded 50%, without any significant association between over-the-counter use and other factors, except for the presence of chronic diseases. We recommend that, the Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia should play a major role in monitoring the practice of self-medication by implementing policies and creating surveillance committees to that effect.
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22. Tesfamariam S, Anand IS, Kaleab G, Berhane S, Woldai B, Habte E, et al. Self-medication with over the counter drugs, prevalence of risky practice and its associated factors in pharmacy outlets of Asmara, Eritrea. BMC Public Health. 2019; 19(1): 159-68. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12889-019-6470-5.pdf
23. Aziz MM, Masood I, Yousaf M, Saleem H, Ye D, Fang Y. Pattern of medication selling and self-medication practices: A study from Punjab, Pakistan. PLoS One. 2018; 13(3): e0194240.
24. Kim HJ, Yang YM, Choi EJ. Use patterns of over-the-counter (OTC) medications and perspectives on OTC medications among Korean adult patients with chronic diseases: Gender and age differences. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2018; 12: 1597–606.
25. Aqeel T, Shabbir A, Basharat H, Bukhari M, Mobin S, Shahid H, et al. Prevalence of self-medication among urban and rural population of Islamabad, Pakistan. Trop J Pharm Res. 2014; 13(4): 627–33.
26. Ansari M, Alanazi A, Moin A. Consumers’ awareness, attitude and associated factors towards self-medication in Hail, Saudi Arabia. PLoS One. 2020; 15(4): e0232322.
27. Sharma D, Gurung D, Kafle R, Singh S. Knowledge and practice on over-the-counter drugs among adults of age group 20 and above residing in Chapapani-12, Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal. Int J Sci Reports. 2017; 3(3): 79–86.
28. Sajith M, Suresh SM, Roy NT, Pawar DA. Self-medication practices among health care professional students in a tertiary care hospital, Pune. Open Publ Health J. 2017; 10(1): 63–8.
2. World Health Organization. The role of the pharmacist in self-care and self-medication: report of the 4th WHO Consultative Group on the Role of the Pharmacist, The Hague, The Netherlands, 26–28 August, 1998. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/65860
3. Aljadhey H, Assiri GA, Mahmoud MA, Al-Aqeel S, Murray M. Self-medication in central Saudi Arabia: Community pharmacy consumers’ perspectives. Saudi Med J. 2015; 36(3): 328–34.
4. Pérez A, Santamaria EK, Operario D, Tarkang EE, Zotor FB, Cardoso SR de SN, et al. No 主観的å¥åº·æ„Ÿã‚’ä¸å¿ƒã¨ã—ãŸåœ¨å®…高齢者ã«ãŠã‘ã‚‹ å¥åº·é–¢é€£æŒ‡æ¨™ã«é–¢ã™ã‚‹å…±åˆ†æ•£æ§‹é€ 分æž.BMC Public Health. 2017; 5(1): 1–8. Available from: https://ejournal.poltektegal.ac.id/index.php/siklus/article/view/298%0Ahttp://repositorio.unan.edu.ni/2986/1/5624.pdf%0Ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jana.2015.10.005%0Ahttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/58%0Ahttp://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=refe
5. Abood EA, Wazaify M. Abuse and misuse of prescription and nonprescription drugs from community pharmacies in Aden City—Yemen. Subset Use Misuse. 2016; 51(7): 942–7.
6. Familydoctor.org. OTC Medicines: Know Your Risks and Reduce Them [Cited 2020 Nov 18]. Available from: https://familydoctor.org/otc-medicines-know-your-risks-and-reduce-them/
7. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Medications and drug allergic reactions [Cited 2020 Nov 18]. Available from: https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/library/allergy-library/medications-and-drug-allergic-reactions
8. Schlaeppi C, Vanobberghen F, Sikalengo G, Glass TR, Ndege RC, Foe G, et al. Prevalence and management of drug–drug interactions with antiretroviral treatment in 2069 people living with HIV in rural Tanzania: a prospective cohort study. HIV Med. 2020; 21(1): 53–63.
9. Vervloet D, Durham S. ABC of allergies: Adverse reactions to drugs. BMJ. 1998; 316(7143): 1511–4.
10. Mahrous MS. Frequency of use of non-prescribed medication among population sample from Al Madina City and its impact on quality of care in Saudi Arabia. Int J Health Sci (Qassim). 2018; 12(5): 3–9.
11. Wójta-Kempa M, Krzyzanowski DM. Correlates of abusing and misusing over-the-counter pain relievers among adult population of Wrocław (Poland). Adv Clin Exp Med. 2016; 25(2): 349–60.
12. Creative Research Systems. Sample Size Calculator [Cited 2020 Nov 18]. Available from: https://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm
13. Ezechukwu C, Egbuonu I, Chukwuka J. Drug treatment of common symptoms in Nnewi South Eastern Nigeria: What mothers do?. Niger J Clin Pract. 2005; 8(1): 1–3.
14. Alzahrani M, Alhindi T, Almutairi A, Aldajani M, Sami W. Frequency of using non-prescribed medication in Majmaah city, Saudi Arabia—A cross sectional study. J Pak Med Assoc. 2015; 65(8): 825–8.
15. Gazibara T, Nurkovic S, Kisic-Tepavcevic D, Kurtagic I, Kovacevic N, Gazibara T, et al. Pharmacotherapy and over-the-counter drug use among elderly in Belgrade, Serbia. Geriatr Nurs. 2013; 34(6): 486–90.
16. Poole C, Jones D, Veitch B. Relationships between prescription and non-prescription drug use in an elderly population. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 1999; 28(3): 259–71.
17. Wazaify M, Shields E, Hughes CM, McElnay JC. Societal perspectives on over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. Fam Pract. 2005; 22(2): 170–6.
18. Shaghaghi A, Asadi M, Allahverdipour H. Predictors of self-medication behavior: A systematic review. Iran J Public Health. 2014; 43(2): 136–46.
19. Thuzar M, Aung PL. Prevalence of self-medication and its influence in the labor force in rural Hlaing Tharyar, Yangon, Myanmar. Open Publ Health J. 2019; 12(1): 38–44.
20. Moore RA, Wiffen PJ, Derry S, Roy YM, Tyrrell L, Derry CJ. Non-prescription (OTC) oral analgesics for acute pain- an overview of Cochrane reviews. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013; 2013(10): CD010794.
21. The Ministry of Health. MOH News - MOH warns against selling antibiotics without prescription [Cited 2020 Nov 18]. Available from: https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/Ministry/MediaCenter/News/Pages/news-2018-04-17-004.aspx
22. Tesfamariam S, Anand IS, Kaleab G, Berhane S, Woldai B, Habte E, et al. Self-medication with over the counter drugs, prevalence of risky practice and its associated factors in pharmacy outlets of Asmara, Eritrea. BMC Public Health. 2019; 19(1): 159-68. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12889-019-6470-5.pdf
23. Aziz MM, Masood I, Yousaf M, Saleem H, Ye D, Fang Y. Pattern of medication selling and self-medication practices: A study from Punjab, Pakistan. PLoS One. 2018; 13(3): e0194240.
24. Kim HJ, Yang YM, Choi EJ. Use patterns of over-the-counter (OTC) medications and perspectives on OTC medications among Korean adult patients with chronic diseases: Gender and age differences. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2018; 12: 1597–606.
25. Aqeel T, Shabbir A, Basharat H, Bukhari M, Mobin S, Shahid H, et al. Prevalence of self-medication among urban and rural population of Islamabad, Pakistan. Trop J Pharm Res. 2014; 13(4): 627–33.
26. Ansari M, Alanazi A, Moin A. Consumers’ awareness, attitude and associated factors towards self-medication in Hail, Saudi Arabia. PLoS One. 2020; 15(4): e0232322.
27. Sharma D, Gurung D, Kafle R, Singh S. Knowledge and practice on over-the-counter drugs among adults of age group 20 and above residing in Chapapani-12, Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal. Int J Sci Reports. 2017; 3(3): 79–86.
28. Sajith M, Suresh SM, Roy NT, Pawar DA. Self-medication practices among health care professional students in a tertiary care hospital, Pune. Open Publ Health J. 2017; 10(1): 63–8.
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Published
2021-12-25
How to Cite
Safdar, O. Y., Albaz, G. F., Mannan, S. M., Alshehri, W. A., Altumaihi, R. M., Bakhashwain, W. J., … Almehmadi, W. M. (2021). Prevalence of over-the-counter drug abuse among adults in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Contemporary Medical Sciences, 7(6). https://doi.org/10.22317/jcms.v7i6.1098
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