Self-medication in children aged 0–12 years in Brazil: a population-based study

Studies have shown that the practice of self-medicating children occurs worldwide and is independent of the country’s economic level, medication policies, or access to health services. This study aimed to estimate and characterize the prevalence of self-medication in the Brazilian population of children aged up to 12 years.

Methods:

We analyzed the data of 7528 children aged up to 12 years whose primary caregivers responded to the National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines in Brazil (PNAUM), a cross-sectional population-based study conducted in 245 Brazilian municipalities. The prevalence of self-medication was defined as the use of at least one medication without a doctor’s or dentist’s indication 15 days before the interview.

Results:

The prevalence of self-medication was 22.2% and was more frequent in older children belonging to poorer families and without health insurance. The acute conditions for which there was a higher frequency of self-medication were pain, fever, and cold/allergic rhinitis. Analgesics/antipyretics stood out among the most used medications for self-medication.

Conclusions:

The prevalence of self-medication to treat acute conditions was high in Brazilian children sampled in PNAUM, emphasizing the management of common symptoms such as pain, fever, and cold/allergic rhinitis in this age group. These findings reinforce the need for educational actions aimed at parents and caregivers.

Keywords:
Children; Self-medication; Prevalence; Health surveys; Brazil

Characteristics	Prevalence %	95%CI
Sex
Male	49.7	47.6–51.7
Female	50.3	48.3–52.4
Age (years)
<2	13.5	12.7–14.4
2–5	26.9	25.4–28.4
6–12	59.6	57.8–61.4
Economic class (ABEP)
A/B	16.8	15.3–18.4
C	56.2	54.2–58.2
D/E	27.0	25.3–28.8
Health insurance
Yes	19.3	17.7–20.9
No	80.7	79.1–82.3
Primary caregiver
Mother	76.1	74.4–77.8
Grandmother/grandfather	9.6	8.5–10.8
Father	8.6	7.6–9.7
Other	5.7	4.7–6.8
Primary caregiver’s education
0–8 years	48.8	46.8–50.8
9–11 years	41.6	39.5–43.6
12 years or more	9.6	8.6–10.8

Characteristics	Prevalence of medication use* (%)	95%CI	Prevalence of self-medication^† (%)	95%CI
Sex
Male	28.0	25.0–31.3	21.6	18.4–25.2
Female	26.1	23.5–28.9	22.7	19.1–26.8
Age (years)
<2	46.5	43.3–49.7	16.4	14.1–19.0
2–5	32.9	30.0–35.8	20.3	17.7–23.3
6–12	20.0	17.4–22.9	26.6	21.6–32.2
Economic class (ABEP)
A/B	22.7	18.9–27.0	17.1	11.6–24.5
C	27.6	24.8–30.6	23.3	20.1–26.9
D/E	28.5	24.8–32.5	22.6	18.2–27.6
Health insurance
Yes	32.2	27.9–36.9	11.9	8.0–17.3
No	25.8	23.41–28.3	25.2	22.4–28.3
Primary caregiver
Mother	29.4	26.9–32.0	22.3	19.7–25.2
Grandmother/grandfather	20.0	15.8–25.1	25.8	17.2–36.7
Father	19.0	14.5–24.4	18.4	11.6–27.9
Other	19.6	12.2–29.8	18.5	7.7–38.3
Primary caregiver’s education
0–8 years	22.9	20.2–25.9	22.2	18.5–26.4
9–11 years	31.1	27.1–35.3	23.8	20.0–28.1
12 years or more	32.6	27.0–38.8	20.1	13.2–29.5
Total	27.1	24.8–29.4	22.2	18.9–25.8

Characteristics	Crude PR	95%CI	Adjusted PR	95%CI
Sex
Male	1.00	0.88–1.14
Female	1
Age (years)
<2	1		1
2–5	1.29	1.12–1.49	1.29	1.12–1.48
6–12	1.54	1.27–1.88	1.57	1.29–1.91
Economic class (ABEP)
A/B	1
C	1.39	1.09–1.77	1.18	0.93–1.50
D/E	1.70	1.32–2.18	1.36	1.06–1.75
Health insurance
Yes	1		1
No	2.29	1.80–2.91	2.13	1.66–2.73
Primary caregiver
Mother	1
Grandmother/grandfather	0.97	0.64–1.45
Father	0.77	0.58–1.03
Other	0.93	0.73–1.19
Primary caregiver’s education
0–8 years	1
9–11 years	0.85	0.70–1.03
12 years or more	0.68	0.53–0.86

Treated disease or condition and use of vitamins, supplements, and tonics	Medication use		Self-medication
	%	95%CI	%	95%CI
Infection	16.4	14.2–19.0	14.4	10.3–19.9
Cold or allergic rhinitis	26.9	24.2–29.7	24.6	20.2–29.6
Gastrointestinal problems*	9.2	7.6–11.1	22.1	15.5–30.5
Fever	30.9	28.0–34.1	24.6	20.4–29.3
Pain	20.9	18.2–24.0	28.7	22.2–36.2
Vitamin, mineral supplement, appetite stimulant, or tonic	22.6	20.3–25.0	21.6	17.6–26.3

Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo R. Maria Figueiredo, 595 - 10o andar, 04002-003 São Paulo - SP - Brasil, Tel./Fax: (11 55) 3284-0308; 3289-9809; 3284-0051 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: rpp@spsp.org.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Corresponding author. E-mail: tatiane.silva@ufrgs.br (T. S. Dal Pizzol)