ArticlePharmacy (Basel, Switzerland)2018
Over-The-Counter (OTC) Drug Consumption among Adults Living in Germany: Results from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults 2008⁻2011 (DEGS1).
Article in Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Patterns of Spontaneous Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting in Germany From 2012 to 2021.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Article
- Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Hox Alpha, a Dry Extract from Stinging Nettle Leaves versus OTC NSAIDs in Osteoarthritis: A Retrospective, Propensity-Matched 12-Week Analysis from the German Pain e-Registry (SIPHARO Study).Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- The impact of patient age on the pharmacist's recommendation of OTC anti-common cold products before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Self-Medication as a Global Health Concern: Overview of Practices and Associated Factors-A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Attitudes, attributions, and usage patterns of primary care patients with regard to over-the-counter drugs-a survey in Germany.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2024Article
- Self-medication among pregnant women in comparison to the general population: a scoping review of the main characteristics.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2024Article
- Household Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal as a Global Problem-A Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Physical Activity is Associated with Less Analgesic Use in Women Reporting Headache-A Cross-Sectional Study of the German Migraine and Headache Society (DMKG).Pain and therapy · 2022Article
- Conceptualization, Development and Psychometric Evaluations of a New Medication-Related Health Literacy Instrument: The Chinese Medication Literacy Measurement.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of treatment with additional enrollment to a homeopathic integrated care contract in Germany.BMC health services research · 2020Observational
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In order to assess the effects of prescription-only (Rx) to over-the-counter (OTC) drug switches and related policies, it is imperative to distinguish self-medication from OTC drug use. The objective of this study was to estimate the OTC drug use in the adult population in Germany, to identify its predictors and to highlight methodological differences when compared to the study of a self-medication prevalence. Seven-day prevalence of OTC drug use was calculated on the basis of information provided by 7091 participants of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1) conducted between 2008 to 2011. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of OTC drug use. Seven-day prevalence of OTC drug use was higher in women (47.16%) than in men (33.17%). Female gender, an age of more than 60 years, reduced health status, Rx drug use, and multi-morbidity were identified as predictors of OTC drug use. The levels of OTC drug use were higher than the self-medication prevalence found in the same data set probably because some OTC drugs are commonly prescribed by physicians. Drug utilization studies should, therefore, make a methodological distinction between self-medication and OTC drug use depending on whether the focus is on drug safety or the impact of regulatory decisions on the trade status.
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