Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29178855›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2017

Prices of over-the-counter drugs used by 15-year-old adolescents in Germany and their association with socioeconomic background.

Salvatore Italia, Silke B Wolfenstetter, Irene Brüske, Joachim Heinrich, Dietrich Berdel, Andrea von Berg, Irina Lehmann, Marie Standl, Christina M Teuner

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact, top 84% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Salvatore ItaliaDepartment of International Health, School CAPHRI, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200, MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Silke B WolfenstetterHelmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
Irene BrüskeHelmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
Joachim HeinrichHelmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
Dietrich BerdelMarien-Hospital Wesel, Research Institute - Department of Pediatrics, Pastor-Janßen-Straße 8-38, 46483, Wesel, Germany.
Andrea von BergMarien-Hospital Wesel, Research Institute - Department of Pediatrics, Pastor-Janßen-Straße 8-38, 46483, Wesel, Germany.
Irina LehmannUFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig, Department of Environmental Immunology, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
Marie StandlHelmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
Christina M TeunerHelmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany. christina.teuner@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
Helmholtz Zentrum München · DEMarien Hospital Wesel · DEHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn Germany, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are normally reimbursed up to the age of 12 years only. The aim of this study was to analyse prices of over-the-counter drugs used by adolescents in Germany and their association with socioeconomic factors.

methodsBased on the German GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts, data on drug utilization among 15-year-old adolescents (n = 4677) were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The reported drugs were subdivided into prescription drugs and OTC drugs. The drugs' prices were tracked by the pharmaceutical identification numbers.

resultsOverall, 1499 OTC drugs with clearly identifiable prices were eligible for analysis. Their mean price was €9.75 (95% confidence interval: €9.27-10.22). About 75% of the OTC drugs cost less than €10. Higher mean prices were associated with residing in Munich (€10.74; 95% confidence interval: €9.97-11.52) and with higher paternal education (e.g. highest education level: €10.17; 95% confidence interval: €9.47-10.86). Adolescents residing in Munich (in comparison with the less wealthy region of Wesel) and adolescents with higher educated fathers were also significantly more likely to use OTC drugs costing ≥ €10 or ≥ €25, respectively.

conclusionsThe price of €10 for non-reimbursable OTC drugs may represent a (psychological) threshold. Higher prices could discourage especially adolescents from a lower socioeconomic background from taking medically advisable but non-reimbursable OTC drugs.

Indexed as

AdolescentCohort StudiesCommerceFemaleGermanyHumansInsurance, Health, ReimbursementMaleNonprescription DrugsPrescription DrugsSocioeconomic FactorsSurveys and QuestionnairesNonprescription DrugsPrescription DrugsAdolescentDrug pricesDrug utilizationOver-the-counter drugsSocioeconomic factors

Identifiers

PMID29178855
PMCPMC5702114
OpenAlexW2769861415

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.