Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
Quadruple-Checkerboard: A Modification of the Three-Dimensional Checkerboard for Studying Drug Combinations
Published on: July 24, 2021
Antibiotic use in children and the use of medicines by parents
Josta de Jong1, Jens H J Bos, Tjalling W de Vries
1University of Groningen, Department of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Groningen 9713AV, The Netherlands. josta.de.jong@rug.nl
Insights
Parents who regularly use antibiotics and other medications are more likely to have children who also receive frequent antibiotic prescriptions. This highlights a potential link between parental medication habits and pediatric antibiotic use, influencing prescribing decisions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric pharmacology
- Public health
- Medication adherence
Background:
- Antibiotic overuse in children for viral infections is a significant public health concern.
- Parental health beliefs and concerns are thought to influence medication prescribing for pediatric patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between antibiotic use in children and their parents' medication consumption patterns.
- To determine if parental medicine use influences the frequency of antibiotic prescriptions in children.
Main Methods:
- An observational cohort study utilizing the IADB.nl prescription database.
- Comparison of medication use (antibiotics and other drugs) between parents of children with recurrent antibiotic prescriptions and those with no antibiotic use.
- Inclusion of 6731 children without antibiotics and 1479 children with annual antibiotic prescriptions, along with their parents.
Main Results:
- Parents of children with recurrent antibiotic prescriptions exhibited higher personal antibiotic use compared to parents of children not receiving antibiotics.
- A greater percentage of chronic medication use was observed in parents of children with frequent antibiotic prescriptions (11.3% vs. 6.2% for mothers, 13.1% vs. 9.5% for fathers).
- Specific medication classes, including antacids, NSAIDs, analgesics, and asthma drugs, were used more frequently by parents in the recurrent antibiotic use group.
Conclusions:
- Parental medication use is associated with higher antibiotic utilization in children.
- Physicians and pharmacists should consider parental medication habits as a factor influencing pediatric antibiotic prescribing.
- Understanding this association may inform strategies to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions in children.
Objective:
Antibiotic drugs are frequently used for viral infections in children. It is probable that health beliefs and parental concern have great influence on the use of drugs in children. This study, performed in The Netherlands, investigates whether the use of antibiotics in children is associated with the use of medicines by parents.
Patients And Methods:
In this observational cohort study, the authors selected 6731 children from the prescription database IADB.nl who did not receive antibiotics until their fifth birthday and 1479 children who received at least one antibiotic prescription every year. The authors then selected parents for each group of children (5790 mothers and 4250 fathers for the children who did not receive antibiotics and 1234 mothers and 1032 fathers for the children who regularly received antibiotics). The authors compared the use of antibiotics and other medicines between the two groups of parents.
Results:
Parents of children who received antibiotics recurrently were found to use more antibiotics themselves compared with parents of children who did not receive antibiotics. Moreover, this group also showed a higher percentage of chronic medication use: (11.3 vs 6.2% (mothers) and 13.1% vs 9.5% (fathers)). Mothers more often use antacids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), analgesics, anxiolytics, hypnotics, antidepressants, drugs for treatment of asthma and antihistamines. Fathers use more antacids, cardiovascular drugs, NSAIDs and asthma drugs.
Conclusions:
The parents of children who receive antibiotic drugs regularly use more medicines compared with the parents of children who use no antibiotic drugs. Parents' medicine use may influence that of children and is a factor physicians and pharmacists should take into account.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion
01:02Prescription, Nonprescription and Orphan Drugs
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
01:23Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption
01:29Drug Dosing: Infants and Children
01:21Factors Affecting Drug Response: Overview
00:57Antibiotic Selection