Patterns of medication use in the immigrant population resident in Spain: associated factors

This study mainly aimed at to ascertain to ascertain the prevalence of the consumption of medications, prescribed and self-medicated, among the immigrant population (economic immigrants and not economic immigrants) resident in Spain, and to identify the factors associated with such consumption in this population.

We have worked with individualized secondary data, collected in the Spanish National Health Survey carried out in 2006 and 2007 (SNHS-06), from the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs. A total of 2055 subjects born outside Spain, aged 16 years or over, were analysed. The independent variables were sociodemographic and health-related, and the dependent variable was medication use. Using logistic multivariate regression models we have estimated the independent effect of each of these variables on the medication consumption.

The 55.8% of immigrant population responded affirmatively to having consumed some type of medication. The drugs that registered the highest consumption prevalence were analgesics (53.09%). It should be stressed here that 8.75% of the not economic immigrant population has consumed antibiotics. The variables that were independently and significantly associated with a greater probability of medication consumption were: sex, age, presence of chronic disease, use of alternative medicines and a negative perception of health. The most strongly associated variable is medical consultation.

The prevalence of medication use higher among economic immigrant women. In our population, the use of alternative medicines use and medical visits to the physician are associated with higher consumption.