Self-medication among undergraduate students from the countryside of Amazonas

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with self-medication among undergraduate students in the countryside of Amazonas. Methods: Cross-sectional study with a total of 694 students from a public university in the countryside of Amazonas, between March and July 2018. Self-medication was defined as the use of at least one medication without a prescription. Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI) were estimated by Logistic Regression. Results: Of the 694 undergraduate students, 483 indicated drug use. Of these, 80.1% reported self-medication. Analgesics were the most used (51.8%) and the reasons that most led to self-medicating were pain problems (54.3%). The variables "having children" (OR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.06-3.16) and "having the practice of recommending medication to other people" (OR: 2.38; 95% CI: 1.47-3.86) remained independently associated with self-medication. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of self-medication among students, highlighting the need for discussion about the rational use of medication in the university environment.