. Shideh Rafati; . Tayebeh Baniasadi; . Neda Dastyar; . Ghazal Zoghi; . Sudabeh Ahmadidarrehsima; . Nasibeh Salari; . Foozieh Rafati
Volume 13, Issue 2 , February 2023, , Pages 1-10
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Self‑medication is the use of unprescribed drugs to treat a disease. Elderlyself‑medication can be more dangerous compared to other age groups because of changes in ...
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BACKGROUND: Self‑medication is the use of unprescribed drugs to treat a disease. Elderlyself‑medication can be more dangerous compared to other age groups because of changes in organfunctions that occur due to senescence. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self‑medicationin the elderly, its related factors, and common drugs used in this regard.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciencewere searched between January 2016 and June 2021. The search strategy was built on two coreconcepts: “self‑medication” and “aged”. The search was limited to original articles in the Englishlanguage. A random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of self‑medication.Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using both the I2 statistic and the χ2 test. Also, ameta‑regression model was used to investigate the potential sources of heterogeneity of the studies.RESULTS: Out of 520 non‑duplicate studies, 38 were included in the meta‑analysis. Self‑medicationin the elderly ranged from 0.3% to 82%. The pooled proportion of self‑medication was 36% (95%CI: 27%–45%). The result of the χ2 test and the I2 index (P < 0.001, I2 = 99.90%) revealed notableheterogeneity among the included studies in the meta‑analysis. The meta‑regression showed asignificant association between the sample size (adjusted β = −0.01; P = 0.043) and the pooledproportion of self‑medication.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of self‑medication in the elderly is high. Education through massmedia to raise awareness about the dangers of self‑medication can help solve this problem.
