Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older South Australians

<em>Objective:</em> This study examines the difference in medication use between baby boomers (born between 1946–1965) and older people (born before 1946) to determine the proportion of people combining over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) us...

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Main Authors: Bee Leng Per, Anne W Taylor, Tiffany K Gill
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIMS Press 2019-10-01
Series:AIMS Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/publichealth.2019.4.380/fulltext.html
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spelling doaj-2f73cadf24b84b0da4f29f287250bede2020-11-25T02:28:47ZengAIMS PressAIMS Public Health2327-89942019-10-016438039510.3934/publichealth.2019.4.380Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older South AustraliansBee Leng Per0Anne W Taylor1Tiffany K Gill21 SA Pharmacy, Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, SA, Australia2 Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia2 Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia<em>Objective:</em> This study examines the difference in medication use between baby boomers (born between 1946–1965) and older people (born before 1946) to determine the proportion of people combining over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) use with prescription medicine use. <em>Design:</em> A clustered, multistage, systematic, random, self-weighting area sample was obtained and a face-to-face interview was conducted to examine the difference in use in prescription medicines, OTC, and CAM and factors associated with the use between baby boomers and older people. <em>Setting:</em> South Australia. <em>Participants:</em> Respondents aged 15 years and over participated in surveys conducted in autumn (March to May) of 2004 (n = 3015) and 2008 (n = 3,034) in which all respondents were asked to list their current medications. This study focuses on those participants whose age was in the range defined by baby boomers and older people. <em>Main outcome measures:</em> Proportion in each age group taking prescription medicine, OTC medicine, and CAM were determined. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the relationships between medication use and demographic variables. Results: The results showed that older people were not only the higher users of prescriptions medicines but also OTC medicines and CAM. Gender and education were associated with the use of CAM. <em>Conclusions:</em> Due to the high use of CAM and OTC, it is important for the prescriber to take a full history of medication use before prescribing to reduce potential problems associated with drug interactions.https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/publichealth.2019.4.380/fulltext.htmlbaby boomersolder peoplepolypharmacymedicines use
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Bee Leng Per
Anne W Taylor
Tiffany K Gill
spellingShingle Bee Leng Per
Anne W Taylor
Tiffany K Gill
Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older South Australians
AIMS Public Health
baby boomers
older people
polypharmacy
medicines use
author_facet Bee Leng Per
Anne W Taylor
Tiffany K Gill
author_sort Bee Leng Per
title Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older South Australians
title_short Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older South Australians
title_full Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older South Australians
title_fullStr Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older South Australians
title_full_unstemmed Prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older South Australians
title_sort prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and complementary and alternative medicines use: a comparison between baby boomers and older south australians
publisher AIMS Press
series AIMS Public Health
issn 2327-8994
publishDate 2019-10-01
description <em>Objective:</em> This study examines the difference in medication use between baby boomers (born between 1946–1965) and older people (born before 1946) to determine the proportion of people combining over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) use with prescription medicine use. <em>Design:</em> A clustered, multistage, systematic, random, self-weighting area sample was obtained and a face-to-face interview was conducted to examine the difference in use in prescription medicines, OTC, and CAM and factors associated with the use between baby boomers and older people. <em>Setting:</em> South Australia. <em>Participants:</em> Respondents aged 15 years and over participated in surveys conducted in autumn (March to May) of 2004 (n = 3015) and 2008 (n = 3,034) in which all respondents were asked to list their current medications. This study focuses on those participants whose age was in the range defined by baby boomers and older people. <em>Main outcome measures:</em> Proportion in each age group taking prescription medicine, OTC medicine, and CAM were determined. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the relationships between medication use and demographic variables. Results: The results showed that older people were not only the higher users of prescriptions medicines but also OTC medicines and CAM. Gender and education were associated with the use of CAM. <em>Conclusions:</em> Due to the high use of CAM and OTC, it is important for the prescriber to take a full history of medication use before prescribing to reduce potential problems associated with drug interactions.
topic baby boomers
older people
polypharmacy
medicines use
url https://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/publichealth.2019.4.380/fulltext.html
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