Diferencias en la automedicación en la población adulta española según el país de origen

Objectives: To explore the factors determining self-medication among the Spanish adult population, paying special attention to differences in pharmaceutical consumption patterns between the immigrant and autochthonous populations in Spain. Methods: Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the effect of several demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health-related variables on self-medication. Data were drawn from the adult sample of the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey, which included 29,478 individuals over 15 years old. Results: The results show that individuals at higher risk of self-medication were young, with a positive perception of health and no chronic diseases, frequent consumers of alcohol, widowers, holders of a private medical insurance policy not contracted through the civil servants' mutual funds, residents in the Autonomous Communities of Madrid or Valencia, and individuals born in Central or Eastern Europe. Conclusions: Identifying the profile of self-medicated drug users in Spain may help health authorities to target high risk individuals in order to comply with European Union public health goals.