Citation

Le VT, Turner AN, McDaniel A, Hale KM, Athas C, Kwiek NC. J. Am. Coll. Health 2018; 66(1): 1-8.

Affiliation

Division of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, the Ohio State University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07448481.2017.1356312

PMID

28812451

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between nonmedical use of over-the-counter medications (NMUOTC) and nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD). PARTICIPANTS: University students surveyed on NMUOTC and NMUPD between August and December 2011 (N = 939).

METHODS: Cross-sectional data analysis of online survey.

RESULTS: The majority of respondents were female, undergraduate, Caucasian, and not affiliated with Greek life. NMUPD and NMUOTC were reported by 21.4% and 11.2% of students, respectively. NMUOTC was significantly associated with NMUPD in unadjusted analyses and after adjustment for gender, age, race/ethnicity, and Greek membership (odds ratio: 3.37, 95% confidence interval: 2.17, 5.23). Secondary analyses showed a relationship between OTC cough medication misuse and NMUPD, OTC stimulant misuse and prescription stimulant misuse, and OTC sleep aid misuse with prescription depressant misuse.

CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the importance both of measuring the prevalence of OTC misuse and incorporating its misuse into assessments of poly-drug use in the university population.

Language: en

Keywords

community health; over-the-counter misuse; prescription medication misuse; substance abuse