Prevalence and influence factors of self-medication in Chinese middle-aged and elderly people: Evidence from 2011, 2013 and 2015 CHARLS panel data

Abstract

Self-medication is an increasingly frequent phenomenon worldwide and has an important influence on health. In this study, we analyzed the self-medication prevalence rate in Chinese middle-aged and elderly people, and explored the influence factors. The data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2011, 2013 and 2015 were used. Self-medication prevalence was calculated as the number of whole people divided by the number of people taking self-medication. The influence factors of self-medication were analyzed by panel data random effect model. We excluded observations with missing values in our analysis, leaving 16 962, 17 876 and 19 572 observations in 2011, 2013 and 2015, respectively. The average 3-year self-medication prevalence was 45.52%. Moreover, 11.70% of respondents practiced self-medication with prescription medicine in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Respondents living in non-rural areas (P = 0.009) and western region (P = 0.000) took more self-medication. Self-medication was a common phenomenon among middle-aged and elderly population in China. The government should strengthen the guidance for the middle-aged and elderly people who took more self-medication, such as those living in urban and western region.