Prevalencia y factores asociados a la automedicación en estudiantes de la Carrera de Bioquímica-Farmacia de la Universidad Técnica de Machala

Abstract

Self-medication has become a serious health problem for mankind, since diseases have become resistant to drugs due to their inappropriate use, and it is also one of the main causes of death globally, according to the WHO. The lack of knowledge regarding the administration of over-the-counter drugs directly affects people's health, due to the severe or mild side effects that may occur. The objective of this research was to analyze the prevalence and factors associated with self-medication in students of Biochemistry and Pharmacy at UTMACH. The methodology used was a summarized and validated version of the CAuM-ovr questionnaire. The results of this research showed that 90,3% of the students self-medicate. In relation to age, 83,1% of the students between 18 and 24 years of age engage in this practice compared to 7,4% of the students between 25 and 31 years of age. On the other hand, 8.9% of the population aged 18 - 24 years do not consume medications without a medical prescription compared to 0,6% in the 25 - 31 years age range. Based on sex, it can be observed that women are the ones who mostly do this practice with 63,9% compared to men with 26,6%. On the other hand, single people are those who frequently self-medicate with 82,5%. According to residence, 69,6% of the people who self-medicate belong to the urban area compared to 20,9% who belong to the rural area; in this same variant, 7,4% of the urban population does not self-medicate compared to 2% of the rural population. In relation to the semester, 47,9% of the students from first to fifth grade self-medicate compared to 42,7% from sixth to tenth grade. Regarding the most consumed pharmacological groups, analgesics stand out with 50,1%, followed by NSAIDs with 26,4% and antihistamines with 6%. In addition, the research showed that the most frequent side effects associated with the administration of over-the-counter drugs are headache, abdominal discomfort, allergy, dizziness and drowsiness. Finally, it was shown that self-medication is a high-risk practice for humanity, especially in the student population. Therefore, it is suggested to take actions to reduce the prevalence of self-medication such as proposing lectures, workshops, encouraging consultation with physicians and establishing health services accessible to students.