Prevalence of self-medication practice among European pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis
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Therapeutic innovation, Translational research and epidemiology. Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco
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Therapeutic innovation, Translational Research and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco
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Therapeutic Innovation, Translational Research and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco
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Therapeutic Innovation, Translational Research and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco
Publication date: 2023-04-27
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A1026
ABSTRACT
Self-medication can be defined as "the act of the subject, to consume on his own initiative a drug without consulting a doctor, and that the drug is already in his possession or that he obtains it in a pharmacy or from another person". The Objective of our study was to estimate the prevalence of European pregnant women towards self-medication during pregnancy a Metanalysis. We conducted a comprehensive literature search of Pubmed, Science direct, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases to identify relevant studies available from January 2011 to December 2021. We used Covidence software to select all relevant studies. The pooled prevalence was calculated by a random-effects model. Study heterogeneity was assessed by Cochrane Q test and I2 index. A subgroup analysis was performed. R software was used for statistical analysis and publication bias analysis was performed by begg egger test. A total of 21 studies were eligible. The total sample size analyzed was 12643 pregnant women. The pooled prevalence of self-medication in Europe was 62.73% with a confidence interval of (53.45; 71.17), the I2 test revealed a high statistically significant heterogeneity of 99%. The Results of the subgroup analysis are based on income level, quality of the publication study and sample size. Heterogeneity, as assessed by the I2 statistical test, was high, statistically significant for all subgroup analyses and ranged from 96% to 99%. The funnel plot showed that there was a possibility of publication bias with a highly significant P-value. The Results obtained from this study showed that the prevalence of self-medication among pregnant women is relatively high. We recommend that health professionals consider implementing programs on the risks of self-medication, and strengthening the control and monitoring of over-the-counter sales of drugs.