SynthesisCurrent clinical pharmacology2020
Prevalence and Predictors of Self-Medication Practices in India: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Current clinical pharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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
32 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Medication safety in older adults in India: an integrative PhD synthesis of direct evidence and contextual implementation evidence.Global health action · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence and patterns of self-medication in Pakistan: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence and associated factors of self-medication with antibiotics among pediatric population in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A systematic review of self-medication practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: implications for pharmacy practice in supporting public health measures.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Healthcare Utilization Patterns for Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Illness in an Urban Slum of Delhi: A Prospective Cohort Study.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2026Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of General Neurologists and Headache Experts Toward Migraine Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study in India.Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology · 2026Article
- Exploring the burden of diarrheal disease and associated WASH practices in rural West Bengal, India: an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Discrepancy Between Knowledge and Practice of Self-Medication Among Adults in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2023: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Self-medication among older adults in rural India: structural gaps in primary care and pain management.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitude, and self-medication practices among healthcare students from the metropolitan City of South India.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Prevalence and risk factors of self-medication with antibiotics in the general population of Tehran-a population-based study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Prevalence and Risk of Meningococcal Disease or Carriage During Mass Gatherings and Associated Travel: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Review
- The pattern of self-medication practice among adult patients attending primary healthcare centers at NGHA in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Attitudes and Behaviors of the Public Toward over the Counter (OTC) Medications in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Polypharmacy and self-medication among older adults in Indian urban communities-a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Self-Medication of Medical Students at Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University in Turkey: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2024Article
- Article
- Exploring the need and potential of ambulatory pharmacy practice for empowering patient and care delivery in India.Frontiers in health services · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelf-Medication (SM) is a practice of using medications to treat selfdiagnosed symptoms without a legitimate prescription by a health care professional. Alongside posing a burden on a patient, SM practices are associated with certain unfavourable health conditions such as drug-resistance, adverse effects, drug-interactions, including death.
objectiveTo systematically review and quantify the prevalence of SM practices and its associated factors in India.
methodsA comprehensive systematic search was performed using scientific databases such as PubMed and Cochrane library for the peer-reviewed research articles that were conducted in India without any language and date restrictions. Studies which were cross-sectional by design and assessing the prevalence and predictors of SM practices in India were considered for the review, and all the relevant articles were screened for their eligibility.
resultsOf 248 articles, a total of 17 articles comprising of 10,248 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, the mean prevalence of SM practices in India was observed to be 53.57%. Familiarity with the medication appears to be a major reason to practice SM (PR: 30.45; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 17.08-43.82; 6 studies), and the practice was noticed more among individuals from a middle-lower class family with a prevalence rate of 26.31 (95%CI: 2.02-50.60; P<0.0001). Minor ailments were the primary reason for practicing SM (PR: 42.46; 95%CI: 21.87- 63.06), among which headache was the most commonly reported (PR: 41.53; 95%CI: 18.05-65.02).
conclusionSelf-medication practices are quite frequent in India. While NSAIDs and anti-allergens are the most frequently utilized self-medicated drugs used for headache and cold and cough.
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Registered trials
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.