[Socioeconomic status and resource consumption in primary care]

To determine the influence of socioeconomic status on healthcare demand and resource consumption in our population.

We performed a cross sectional, retrospective study of socioeconomic status and healthcare and pharmaceutical consumption in randomly selected patients from five primary care pediatric clinics in Madrid. The chi-square test was used to compare percentages. For the remaining analyses, nonparametric tests were used after confirming that the data followed non-normal distribution.

We compared 684 questionnaires. Patients in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic levels consumed a greater number of drugs than those in more privileged levels (mean 0.79 vs. 0.47, p = 0.04). The mean pharmacological expenditure was also higher in the lowest socioeconomic levels than in the highest levels (5.28 Euros vs. 2.21 Euros, respectively; p = 0.001). No significant differences were found among socioeconomic levels in the number of consultations or diagnostic tests requested. The number of consultations was higher in younger patients (p < 0.001) or in those with chronic diseases (p = 0.001). Drug consumption was increased in the most disadvantaged levels (p = 0.002) and in patients with chronic diseases (p < 0.001). Lastly, pharmacological expenditure expressed in Euros was also higher in the lowest socioeconomic levels (p = 0.001) and in patients with chronic diseases (p < 0.001) but was lower if one of the parents was a foreigner (p = 0.031).

We found a relationship between socioeconomic level and drug consumption and its attributable cost. These data should be confirmed by broader studies.