Prevalence of self-medication during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Front Public Health
; 10: 1041695, 2022.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2142365
ABSTRACT
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on travel and quarantine measures made people turn to self-medication (SM) to control the symptoms of their diseases. Different studies were conducted worldwide on different populations, and their results were different. Therefore, this global systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled prevalence of self-medication.Methods:
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, databases of Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched without a time limit. All eligible observational articles that reported self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed. Heterogeneity among the studies was assessed using Cochran's Q test and I2 statistics. A random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of self-medication. The methodological quality of the articles was evaluated with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.Results:
Fifty-six eligible studies were reviewed. The pooled prevalence of self-medication was 48.6% (95% CI 42.8-54.3). The highest and lowest prevalence of self-medication was in Asia (53%; 95% CI 45-61) and Europe (40.8%; 95% CI 35-46.8). Also, the highest and lowest prevalence of self-medication was related to students (54.5; 95% CI 40.8-68.3) and healthcare workers (32.5%; 16-49). The prevalence of self-medication in the general population (48.8%; 40.6-57) and in patients with COVID-19 (41.7%; 25.5-58). The prevalence of self-medication was higher in studies that collected data in 2021 than in 2020 (51.2 vs. 48%). Publication bias was not significant (p = 0.320).Conclusion:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, self-medication was highly prevalent, so nearly half of the people self-medicated. Therefore, it seems necessary to provide public education to control the consequences of self-medication.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
/
Reviews
/
Systematic review/Meta Analysis
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Front Public Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fpubh.2022.1041695
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