Automedicación en estudiantes de medicina de la Universidad del Rosario en Bogotá D.C., Colombia

Introduction. Self-medication is a frequent public health problem in the student population, especially among medical students, given their greater knowledge of pharmacology. Since they are future prescribers, it is important to establish the magnitude of the problem in this population. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out by means of a survey applied to 276 medical students, in which demographic data, pathologic history, habits, frequency of self-medication, self-medicated drugs, percentage of responsible self-medication, reasons for self-medication and knowledge about this behavior were investigated. Results. Of the 276 surveys carried out, 270 were analyzed. The prevalence of self-medication was 79.3%. The only factor with statistical association was belonging to a clinical semester (p = 0.020). The most frequently self-medicated drugs were acetaminophen (10.8%) and ibuprofen (3.9%).

Among the self-medicated drugs, 70.6% required a prescription. The most frequent indications were headache (10.6%), common cold (4.2%) and dysmenorrhea (3.4%). Responsible self-medication criteria were met by 39.1% of the respondents. Conclusion. The prevalence of self-medication in the population evaluated is high, and most of the medications used require a medical prescription. Influencing factors are related to age and semester of study. Most students self-medicate inappropriately.