Medication Consumption in the Spanish Paediatric Population: Related Factors and Time Trend, 1993-2003

Aims: To ascertain the prevalence of consumption of medications in the Spanish paediatric population and to identify the factors associated with such consumption.

Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study covering the Spanish adult population, using data drawn from the 1993 and 2003 Spanish National Health Surveys (SNHS). The 1993 and 2003 SNHS include data on 5280 and 6463 children, respectively, age range 0-15 years. The independent variables were sociodemographic and health-related, and the dependent variable was medications use. Using logistic multivariate regression models, we analysed the temporal evolution of medication consumption between 1993 and 2003.

Results: The 1993 SNHS data revealed that 36.81% of the paediatric population had consumed some type of medication, whereas in 2003 this figure had dropped to 34%. Over the decade of study, there was a significant decrease in use of medications for catarrh, influenza, throat (P < 0.05), and an increase in consumption of pain-relieving drugs and/or fever-lowering, antibiotics and anti-allergy remedies. Multivariate analysis highlighted the association between medication consumption, negative perception of the child's health [odds ratio (OR) 2.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.16, 3.72 in 1993, and OR 3.54, 95% CI 2.74, 4.56 in 2003] and medical visits to the physician across the 2 years (OR 12.09, 95% CI 10.13, 14.42 in 1993, and OR 7.17, 95% CI 6.06, 8.47 in 2003).

Conclusions: Although there was a significant decline in overall drug consumption in the Spanish paediatric population from 1993 to 2003, the prevalence of consumption of certain groups, such as analgesics, antipyretics and antibiotics, has risen.