[Self-medication and the elderly. The reality of the home medicine cabinet]. / Automedicación y ancianos. La realidad de un botiquín casero.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of self-medication in the elderly, to describe the characteristics of self-medication and home medicine cabinets. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING: An urban primary health care (PHC) centre in Spain. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 240 patients 75 years of age or older. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: A structured questionnaire filled in by home care nurses from April to June 2006. Self-medication was classified into 4 sub-groups: pharmacological or herbal, exclusively pharmacological, exclusively herbal and pharmacological and herbal. The study variables were: age, sex, living alone, number of chronic diseases, number of chronic prescriptions and medicine cabinet characteristics (drugs accumulation, expired drugs, chronic drugs out of prescription, location of medicine chest and periodic review). Other variables were: drug types, source, and acute/chronic reason for self-medication. RESULTS: Self-medication frequency was 31,2% (95% CI, 26-36), with 22.9% (95% CI, 17.5-27.5) being pharmacological and 15.4% (95% CI, 23.1-17.3), herbal. The drugs most used in self-medication were analgesics (30.9%) and cold remedies (27.2%). The pharmacy was the most usual source (49.3%). A total of 41.6% contained drugs that were out of chronic prescription, and 34.4% accumulated more than three boxes of the same medication. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant prevalence of self-medication among the elderly. Accumulating drugs in homes is a very extensive practice. Pharmacists and PHC professionals need to be trained in the responsible use of chronic and self-medication. Although self-care has to be encouraged, PHC professionals must make their patients aware of the harmful effects of self-medication.

Automedicación y ancianos. La realidad de un botiquín casero / Self-medication and the elderly. The reality of the home medicine cabinet

Objetivo: Estimar la prevalencia de automedicación en ancianos y describir las características de la automedicación y el estado de los botiquines caseros.Diseño: Estudio descriptivo transversal.EmplazamientoCentro de atención primaria (AP) de ámbito urbano.Participantes: 240 pacientes de edad ≥ 75 años.Medidas principalesCuestionario estructurado recogido por enfermería a domicilio entre abril y junio de 2006. Se definió automedicación en cuatro subgrupos: farmacológica o de herboristería, exclusivamente farmacológica, exclusivamente de herboristería y farmacológica y de herboristería. Las variables de estudio fueron: edad, sexo, vivir solo, número enfermedades crónicas, número de prescripciones crónicas y características del botiquín (acumulación de fármacos, fármacos caducados, fármacos fuera de prescripción crónica, lugar del botiquín y revisión periódica). Otras variables: tipos de fármacos, fuente y motivo agudo/crónico de la automedicación.Resultados: La frecuencia de automedicación fue del 31,2% (intervalo de confianza [IC], 36%–26%), farmacológica en el 22,9% (IC, 27,5%–17,5%) y de herboristería 15,4% (IC, 17,3%–13,1%). Los fármacos más utilizados para la automedicación fueron los analgésicos (30,9%) y los fármacos para el resfriado (27,2%). La fuente más habitual fue la farmacia (49,3%). El 41,6% contenía fármacos fuera de la prescripción crónica y el 23,4% acumulaba más de tres cajas del mismo medicamento.Conclusiones: Hay una importante prevalencia de ancianos que se automedican. Acumular fármacos en los domicilios es una práctica muy extendida. Es necesaria la educación sanitaria por diferentes ámbitos, farmacéuticos y profesionales de AP, en el uso responsable de la medicación tanto crónica como en la automedicación. Pese a la necesidad de promover el autocuidado, es necesario que los profesionales de AP sensibilizen a los pacientes sobre los efectos nocivos de la automedicación(AU)

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of self-medication in the elderly, to describe the characteristics of self-medication and home medicine cabinets.Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.Setting: An urban primary health care (PHC) centre in Spain.Participants: A total of 240 patients 75 years of age or older.Main measurements: A structured questionnaire filled in by home care nurses from April to June 2006. Self-medication was classified into 4 sub-groups: pharmacological or herbal, exclusively pharmacological, exclusively herbal and pharmacological and herbal. The study variables were: age, sex, living alone, number of chronic diseases, number of chronic prescriptions and medicine cabinet characteristics (drugs accumulation, expired drugs, chronic drugs out of prescription, location of medicine chest and periodic review). Other variables were: drug types, source, and acute/chronic reason for self-medication.Results: Self-medication frequency was 31,2% (95% CI, 26–36), with 22.9% (95% CI, 17.5–27.5) being pharmacological and 15.4% (95% CI, 23.1–17.3), herbal. The drugs most used in self-medication were analgesics (30.9%) and cold remedies (27.2%). The pharmacy was the most usual source (49.3%). A total of 41.6% contained drugs that were out of chronic prescription, and 34.4% accumulated more than three boxes of the same medication.Conclusions: There is a significant prevalence of self-medication among the elderly. Accumulating drugs in homes is a very extensive practice. Pharmacists and PHC professionals need to be trained in the responsible use of chronic and self-medication. Although self-care has to be encouraged, PHC professionals must make their patients aware of the harmful effects of self-medication(AU)