Prevalence of self-medication among the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Self-medication is the use of unprescribed drugs to treat a disease. Elderly self-medication can be more dangerous compared to other age groups because of changes in organ functions that occur due to senescence. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self-medication in the elderly, its related factors, and common drugs used in this regard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched between January 2016 and June 2021. The search strategy was built on two core concepts: “self-medication” and “aged”. The search was limited to original articles in the English language. A random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of self-medication. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using both the I2 statistic and the χ2 test. Also, a meta-regression model was used to investigate the potential sources of heterogeneity of the studies. RESULTS: Out of 520 non-duplicate studies, 38 were included in the meta-analysis. Self-medication in the elderly ranged from 0.3% to 82%. The pooled proportion of self-medication was 36% (95% CI: 27%–45%). The result of the χ2 test and the I2 index (P < 0.001, I2 = 99.90%) revealed notable heterogeneity among the included studies in the meta-analysis. The meta-regression showed a significant association between the sample size (adjusted β = −0.01; P = 0.043) and the pooled proportion of self-medication. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of self-medication in the elderly is high. Education through mass media to raise awareness about the dangers of self-medication can help solve this problem.

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“…These findings align with age-related preferences for healthcare-seeking and management strategies. 20 On the other hand, elderly patients often favor traditional medical interventions, such as visits to physicians and hospital-based treatments, probably due to their trust in established healthcare practices, familiarity and comfort with these settings, long-term physician–patient relationships, and the perception of comprehensive care, health insurance coverage, and limited exposure to alternative healthcare options. 21 …”

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of medication and its influencing factors among residents in western China: a large-scale cross-sectional study

“…Elderly individuals often suffer from chronic diseases or multiple underlying diseases and may take multiple drugs at the same time. However, they have low awareness and knowledge levels of rational drug use and poor understanding ability ( 25 ) and urgently require drug use knowledge. Therefore, it is suggested that relevant departments regularly organize pharmacists to conduct public lectures and seminars on rational drug use in rural areas and communities, distribute popular science books, provide medication consultation and guidance, follow up medication, and establish a chronic management center throughout the process, which can reduce the amount of multidrug use in elderly patients, reduce the incidence of multidrug use, enhance behavioral self-management, and increase knowledge and belief in rational drug use, eventually improving safety and medication adherence behavior ( 26 , 27 ).…”