Prevalence of self-medication in adolescents

Abstract

Results: Out of the 109 adolescents, 56,9% attended the 10th grade and 43,1% the 12th grade. Their average age is 16,3 years old. Self-medication was practiced by 80,7% of the adolescents. Out of these, 92,3% were females and 70,2% were males (p = 0,004). The most common indications for self-medication were to relieve the symptoms of headache (59,6%), cold (48,6%) and fever (40,4%). Analgesics (67%) were the most common drugs used for self-medication. The sources of the medication included the pharmacy (67%) and the medicines they have at home (52,3%). 62,4% of adolescents are aware of the risks associated with this practice, 72,5% see advantages in self-medication, and 78,9% considering it acceptable in some circumstances.