ArticleBMC complementary and alternative medicine2009
Self-medication with over-the-counter drugs and complementary medications in South Australia's elderly population.
Article in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of self-medication and associated factors in an elderly population: a systematic review.Drugs & aging · 2014Pooled it
- Fish oil administration in older adults: is there potential for adverse events? A systematic review of the literature.BMC geriatrics · 2013Pooled it
- Trial
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- Barriers to accessing and using primary and secondary healthcare among children under-five in the Koutiala health district of Mali.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Description of Common Ailments and Nonprescription Medications Found in Medication Reviews for People With Intellectual Disability.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR · 2025Article
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- A cross-sectional study on self-medication with over-the-counter drugs among adolescents: an analysis of current practices.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
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- The Abuse and Misuse of Over-the-Counter Medicines During COVID-19.Hospital pharmacy · 2023Review
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- A Retrospective Study of Epidemiological Correlations of Food, Drug and Chemical Poisoning in Al-Baha, Western Saudi Arabia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Higher dietary vitamin D intake is associated with better survival among older women: Results from the French EPIDOS cohort.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Self-medication in Chinese residents and the related factors of whether or not they would take suggestions from medical staff as an important consideration during self-medication.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- The use of herbal and dietary supplement among community-dwelling elderly in a suburban town of Malaysia.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2021Article
- Traditional and complementary medicine for promoting healthy ageing in WHO Western Pacific Region: Policy implications from utilization patterns and current evidence.Integrative medicine research · 2021Review
- When text simplification is not enough: could a graph-based visualization facilitate consumers' comprehension of dietary supplement information?JAMIA open · 2021Article
- Polypharmacy and Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Home-Dwelling Older People - A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2021Article
- Factors Affecting Painkillers, Sedatives/Hypnotics, Nicotine, and Unhealthy Alcohol Use Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Taiwan.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Analysis of spontaneous reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions for non-analgesic over-the-counter drugs from 2008 to 2017.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA number of surveys have examined use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in Australia. However, there are limited Australian data on use of CAM and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in the elderly population. The main aims of this study were to examine self-medication practices with CAM and OTC medicines among older Australians and variables associated with their use.
methodsThe Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA) is an ongoing multidisciplinary prospective study of the older population which commenced in 1992 in South Australia. Data collected in 4 waves of ALSA between 1992 and 2004 were used in this study with a baseline sample of 2087 adults aged 65 years and over, living in the community or residential aged care. OTC medicines were classified according to the World Health Organization Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification. CAM were classified according a modified version of the classification adopted by the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia.
resultsThe prevalence of CAM or OTC use ranged from 17.7% in 2000-2001 to 35.5% in 2003-2004. The top classes of CAM and OTC medicines used remained relatively constant over the study period. The most frequent classes of CAM used were vitamins and minerals, herbal medicines and nutritional supplements while the most commonly used OTC were analgesics, laxatives and low dose aspirin. Females and those of younger age were more likely to be CAM users but no variable was associated with OTC use.
conclusionParticipants seemed to self-medicate in accordance with approved indications, suggesting they were informed consumers, actively looking after their own health. However, use of analgesics and aspirin are associated with an increased risk of adverse drug events in the elderly. Future work should examine how self-medication contributes to polypharmacy and increases the risk of adverse drug reactions.
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