Stoehr G P, Ganguli M, Seaberg E C, Echement D A, Belle S
School of Pharmacy, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997 Feb;45(2):158-65. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1997.tb04501.x.
To examine the self-reported use of over-the-counter (OTC) medications and the factors associated with OTC use in a rural older population.
A cross-sectional study of an age-stratified random community sample.
The mid-Monongahela Valley, a rural area of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
A total of 1059 older individuals with a mean age of 74.5 (+/- 5.5) years, 96.9% of whom were white and 57.3% of whom were women.
Self-reported over-the-counter drug use and demographic information, and information about prescription drug use and recent use of health services.
The majority (87.0%) of the sample were taking at least one OTC medication; 5.7% reported taking five or more OTCs. Women took significantly more OTCs than did men (P < .001). Individuals with more education took significantly more OTCs than those who had less (P = .018). The OTC category used most commonly was analgesics (66.3% overall), followed by vitamin and mineral supplements (38.1%), antacids (27.9%), and laxatives (9.7%). The use of analgesics decreased significantly (P = .018) with increasing age, whereas the use of laxatives increased significantly (P < .001). Women were more likely than men to be using each of these four major OTC groups. Unlike the associations with prescription drug use we reported previously in the same population, there were no significant associations for overall OTC use with age or with the use of health services. However, although vitamin use (as an example of an OTC drug taken for "preventive" purposes) was not associated with health services use, the use of laxatives (as an example of a "curative" OTC) was significantly associated (P < or = .002) with a greater number of physician visits, emergency room visits, hospitalizations during the past 6 months, home health care service utilization, and number of prescription medications.
A substantial proportion of our older sample reported using a variety of over-the-counter drugs. Analgesics and vitamin/mineral supplements were the most frequently used categories. Women and those with more education were taking more OTC drugs. OTC use was not related to age, but the use of analgesics decreased with age while laxative use increased with age. Unlike prescription drug use, overall OTC drug use was not associated with health services utilization.
调查农村老年人群中自我报告的非处方药（OTC）使用情况以及与OTC使用相关的因素。
对按年龄分层的随机社区样本进行横断面研究。
宾夕法尼亚州西南部农村地区的莫农加希拉河谷中部。
共有1059名老年人，平均年龄为74.5（±5.5）岁，其中96.9%为白人，57.3%为女性。
自我报告的非处方药使用情况、人口统计学信息、处方药使用信息以及近期医疗服务使用情况。
样本中的大多数（87.0%）至少服用一种OTC药物；5.7%的人报告服用五种或更多的OTC药物。女性服用的OTC药物明显多于男性（P <.001）。受教育程度较高的人服用的OTC药物明显多于受教育程度较低的人（P = 0.018）。最常使用的OTC类别是镇痛药（总体占66.3%），其次是维生素和矿物质补充剂（38.1%）、抗酸剂（27.9%）和泻药（9.7%）。随着年龄的增长，镇痛药的使用显著减少（P = 0.018），而泻药的使用显著增加（P <.001）。在这四大类OTC药物的使用上，女性比男性更有可能使用。与我们之前在同一人群中报告的处方药使用情况不同，总体OTC使用与年龄或医疗服务使用之间没有显著关联。然而，虽然维生素的使用（作为用于“预防”目的的OTC药物的一个例子）与医疗服务使用无关，但泻药的使用（作为“治疗性”OTC的一个例子）与过去6个月内更多的医生就诊次数、急诊室就诊次数、住院次数、家庭医疗服务利用率以及处方药数量显著相关（P ≤.002）。
我们样本中的很大一部分老年人报告使用了多种非处方药。镇痛药和维生素/矿物质补充剂是最常用的类别。女性和受教育程度较高的人服用的OTC药物更多。OTC使用与年龄无关，但镇痛药的使用随年龄减少，而泻药的使用随年龄增加。与处方药使用不同，总体OTC药物使用与医疗服务利用无关。
