Rafati Shideh, Baniasadi Tayebeh, Dastyar Neda, Zoghi Ghazal, Ahmadidarrehsima Sudabeh, Salari Nasibeh, Rafati Foozieh
Social Factors in Health Promotion Research Center, Hormozgan Health Research Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
Department of Health Information Technology, Faculty of Paramedicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
J Educ Health Promot. 2023 Feb 28;12:67. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_630_22. eCollection 2023.
Self-medication is the use of unprescribed drugs to treat a disease. Elderly self-medication can be more dangerous compared to other age groups because of changes in organ functions that occur due to senescence. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self-medication in the elderly, its related factors, and common drugs used in this regard.
Electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched between January 2016 and June 2021. The search strategy was built on two core concepts: "self-medication" and "aged". The search was limited to original articles in the English language. A random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of self-medication. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using both the I statistic and the test. Also, a meta-regression model was used to investigate the potential sources of heterogeneity of the studies.
Out of 520 non-duplicate studies, 38 were included in the meta-analysis. Self-medication in the elderly ranged from 0.3% to 82%. The pooled proportion of self-medication was 36% (95% CI: 27%-45%). The result of the test and the I index ( < 0.001, I= 99.90%) revealed notable heterogeneity among the included studies in the meta-analysis. The meta-regression showed a significant association between the sample size (adjusted β = -0.01; = 0.043) and the pooled proportion of self-medication.
The prevalence of self-medication in the elderly is high. Education through mass media to raise awareness about the dangers of self-medication can help solve this problem.
自我药疗是指使用未经处方的药物来治疗疾病。由于衰老导致器官功能发生变化，老年人自我药疗可能比其他年龄组更危险。本研究旨在估计老年人自我药疗的患病率、其相关因素以及在这方面常用的药物。
在2016年1月至2021年6月期间检索了电子数据库，如PubMed、Scopus和Web of Science。检索策略基于两个核心概念：“自我药疗”和“老年人”。检索仅限于英文原创文章。使用随机效应模型来估计自我药疗的合并患病率。使用I统计量和检验来评估研究之间的异质性。此外，使用元回归模型来研究研究异质性的潜在来源。
在520项非重复研究中，38项被纳入荟萃分析。老年人自我药疗的比例从0.3%到82%不等。自我药疗的合并比例为36%（95%置信区间：27%-45%）。检验结果和I指数（<0.001，I=99.90%）显示，在荟萃分析中纳入的研究之间存在显著异质性。元回归显示样本量（调整后的β=-0.01；=0.043）与自我药疗的合并比例之间存在显著关联。
老年人自我药疗的患病率很高。通过大众媒体进行教育，提高对自我药疗危害的认识，有助于解决这一问题。
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