ArticleBMC pharmacology & toxicology2014
Pharmacoepidemiology of common colds and upper respiratory tract infections in children and adolescents in Germany.
Article in BMC pharmacology & toxicology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Inequalities in health care utilization among migrants and non-migrants in Germany: a systematic review.International journal for equity in health · 2018Pooled it
- Appropriateness and determinants of outpatient antibiotic use among migrants in British Columbia, Canada: a population-based study.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Article
- Low awareness of proper use of cold and cough medication among Czech paediatricians: a questionnaire study.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Prevalence of pre-hospital antibiotic exposure and its associated factors among pediatric population: a cross-sectional study.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- A rapid scoping review of antibiotic access and use barriers among refugee and migrant populations.Globalization and health · 2026Article
- Childhood family income and medication use in youth.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2025Article
- Epidemiology and treatment of children with hereditary angioedema in Germany: A retrospective database study.Clinical and translational allergy · 2023Article
- Antibiotics Self Medication among Children: A Systematic Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Effect of nursery on asthma and acute upper respiratory infection in healthy preschool children.Postepy dermatologii i alergologii · 2022Article
- Identifying socio-ecological drivers of common cold in Bhutan: a national surveillance data analysis.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Article
- Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Antibiotic Prescriptions in Patients with Acute Lower and Upper Respiratory Tract Infections-A Case-Control Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Acute cough in Italian children: parents' beliefs, approach to treatment, and the family impact.Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine · 2019Article
- Comparing outpatient oral antibiotic use in Germany and the Netherlands from 2012 to 2016.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2018Article
- Influenza and influenza-like syndromes: the subjects' beliefs, the attitude to prevention and treatment, and the impact in Italian general population.Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine · 2018Article
- Cost of acute cough in Italian children.ClinicoEconomics and outcomes research : CEOR · 2018Article
- How French general practitioners manage and prevent recurrent respiratory tract infections in children: the SOURIRRE survey.International journal of general medicine · 2017Article
- Prevalence, Severity, and Treatment of Recurrent Wheezing During the First Year of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study of 12,405 Latin American Infants.Allergy, asthma & immunology research · 2016Article
- Effectiveness, safety and tolerability of a complex homeopathic medicinal product in the prevention of recurrent acute upper respiratory tract infections in children: a multicenter, open, comparative, randomized, controlled clinical trial.Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine · 2016Article
- The Effectiveness and Safety of a Homeopathic Medicinal Product in Pediatric Upper Respiratory Tract Infections With Fever: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Global pediatric health · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedicines to treat common colds (CC) and upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) are widely used among children, but there are only few data about treatments actually applied for these diseases. In the present study we analyze the prevalence and correlations of self-medicated and prescribed drug use for the treatment of CCs and URTIs among children and adolescents in Germany.
methodsMedicine use during the week preceding the interview was recorded among 17,450 children (0-17 years) who participated in the drug interview of the 2003-2006 German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS). The definition of CCs and URTIs in the present study included the WHO-ICD-10 codes J00, J01.0, J01.9, J02.0, J02.9, J03.0, J03.9, J04.0, J06.8, J06.9, J11.1, J11.8, R05 and R07.0. Using the complex sample method, the prevalence and associated socio-demographic factors of self-medication, prescribed medicines and antibiotics were defined.
results13.8% of the participating girls and boys use drugs to treat a CC or an URTI. About 50% of this group use prescribed medications. Among the users of prescribed medication, 11.5% use antibiotics for the treatment of these diseases. Looking at all prescribed medicines we find associations with younger age, immigration background, and lower social status. Antibiotic use in particular is associated with female sex, higher age, residency in the former East Germany and immigration background.
conclusionsThe use of medicines to treat CCs or URTIs is widespread among children and adolescents in Germany. Thus, longitudinal studies should investigate the risks associated with this drug use. Differences in socio-demographic variables regarding exposure to antibiotic use indicate that there could be an implausible prescribing behavior among physicians in Germany.
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