TY  - JOUR
T1  - Over-The-Counter (OTC) Drug Consumption among Adults Living in Germany: Results from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults 2008-2011 (DEGS1)
AU  - Barrenberg, Eva
AU  - Knopf, Hildtraud
AU  - Garbe, Edeltraut
AB  - In order to assess the effects of prescription-only (Rx) to over-the-counter (OTC) drug switches and related policies, it is imperative to distinguish self-medication from OTC drug use. The objective of this study was to estimate the OTC drug use in the adult population in Germany, to identify its predictors and to highlight methodological differences when compared to the study of a self-medication prevalence. Seven-day prevalence of OTC drug use was calculated on the basis of information provided by 7091 participants of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1) conducted between 2008 to 2011. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of OTC drug use. Seven-day prevalence of OTC drug use was higher in women (47.16%) than in men (33.17%). Female gender, an age of more than 60 years, reduced health status, Rx drug use, and multi-morbidity were identified as predictors of OTC drug use. The levels of OTC drug use were higher than the self-medication prevalence found in the same data set probably because some OTC drugs are commonly prescribed by physicians. Drug utilization studies should, therefore, make a methodological distinction between self-medication and OTC drug use depending on whether the focus is on drug safety or the impact of regulatory decisions on the trade status
KW  - non-prescription medicines
KW  - OTC drugs
KW  - self-medication
KW  - drug utilization studies
KW  - Germany
KW  - DEGS1
KW  - epidemiology
KW  - pharmaceutical public health
KW  - 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
PY  - 2018
LA  - eng
PB  - Robert Koch-Institut
JO  - pharmacy
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
DO  - 10.3390/pharmacy6020052
ER  -