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Volume 12, Number 3—March 2006
Research

Self-medication with Antimicrobial Drugs in Europe

Larissa Grigoryan*Comments to Author , Flora M. Haaijer-Ruskamp*, Johannes G.M. Burgerhof*, Reli Mechtler†, Reginald Deschepper‡, Arjana Tambic-Andrasevic§, Retnosari Andrajati¶, Dominique L. Monnet#, Robert Cunney**, Antonella Di Matteo††, Hana Edelstein‡‡, Rolanda Valinteliene§§, Alaa Alkerwi¶¶, Elizabeth A. Scicluna##, Pawel Grzesiowski***, Ana-Claudia Bara†††, Thomas Tesar‡‡‡, Milan Cizman§§§, Jose Campos¶¶¶, Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg###, and Joan Birkin****
Author affiliations: *University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; †University of Linz, Linz, Austria; ‡Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; §University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia; ¶Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; #Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark; **Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Dublin, Ireland; ††Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, Chieti, Italy; ‡‡Ha'Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel; §§Institute of Hygiene, Vilnius, Lithuania; ¶¶Directorate of Health, Luxembourg, Luxembourg; ##St Luke's Hospital, G'Mangia, Malta; ***National Institute of Public Health, Warsaw, Poland; †††Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany; ‡‡‡Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia; §§§University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia; ¶¶¶Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; ###Karolinska Institutet, Göteborg, Sweden; ****Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Main Article

Table 3

Effects of individual characteristics on actual and at-risk antimicrobial drug self-medication*

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.

Main Article

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.

Page created: January 27, 2012
Page updated: January 27, 2012
Page reviewed: January 27, 2012
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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