Volume 12, Number 3—March 2006
Research
Self-medication with Antimicrobial Drugs in Europe
Table 3
Characteristics | Adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|
Actual self-medication | Storage (conservative estimate) | Intended self-medication | ||
Age | 0.985 (0.979–0.992) | 0.977 (0.973–0.982) | 0.984 (0.980–0.987) | |
Region in Europe† | ||||
Northern and western | 1 (reference) | 1 | 1 | |
Southern | 6.776 (4.752–9.662) | 5.101 (4.240–6.137) | 2.233 (1.909–2.613) | |
Eastern | 7.529 (5.676–9.985) | 3.311 (2.868–3.822) | 2.851 (2.577–3.154) | |
Education level | ||||
Low‡ | 1 (reference) | 1 | 1 | |
High | 1.357 (1.095–1.680) | 1.690 (1.470–1.943) | 1.233 (1.116–1.361) | |
Chronic disease§ | ||||
No | 1 (reference) | 1 | 1 | |
Any | 1.888 (1.497–2.383) | 1.225 (1.038–1.446) | 2.320(1.594–3.378) | |
Age × any chronic disease | 0.989 (0.982–0.996) | |||
Exponential (constant) | 0.012 | 0.083 | 0.219 |
*At-risk self-medication included intended self-medication or storage of drugs at home.
†Northern and western includes Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, United Kingdom, Ireland; southern includes Israel, Malta, Italy, and Spain; eastern includes Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Lithuania.
‡Low education level was defined as incomplete primary education, completed primary education, and lower vocational or general education.
§Including any of the following diseases: asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, HIV infection, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, endocarditis, tuberculosis, prostatitis, chronic urinary tract infection, chronic osteomyelitis, peptic ulcer disease, chronic pyelonephritis, or cancer.
1A copy of the questionnaire is available from the corresponding author on request.
2The adjusted estimates for each country are available from the corresponding author on request.
3Results are available from the corresponding author on request.