Prevalence of aspirin use and its concurrent use with ibuprofen among two middle eastern countries: Jordan and the UAE - a cross sectional study

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of aspirin use as a prophylactic agent in two countries Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in addition to the frequency of concurrent use of aspirin and ibuprofen which might be associated with lower cardio protection. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire from December 2009 to February 2010. The results showed significantly higher proportion of Jordanian patients with cardiovascular problems [85.97%] who were using aspirin as compared to patients from the United Arab Emirates [71.26%] [p= 0.0205, chi square test]. The percentage of Jordanian patients with different cardiovascular problems taking aspirin concurrently with ibuprofen was relatively high. Patients' adherence to aspirin administration in both populations was suboptimal. Patients' age and previous myocardial infarction episodes were found to have a significant [p<0.001] association with the use of aspirin in both populations. These results call for reasonable strategies for aspirin administration in both countries