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Persistent social inequality in medicine use for headache among adolescents in Denmark 1991-2014
Bjørn Evald Holstein1, Anne Maj Denbæk1, Anette Andersen1
1University of Southern Denmark, National Institute of Public Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Background:
Socioeconomic variation in adolescents' medicine use behaviour is an understudied issue.
Objectives:
To examine the association between socioeconomic background and medicine use for headache among adolescents, and how this association changes over time.
Methods:
Data stem from the Danish part of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study 1991-2014 with data about parents' occupational social class (OSC) and self-reported medicine use for headache, n = 26,685. This study examined absolute social inequality (percent difference between high and low OSC) and relative social inequality (odds ratio for medicine use by OSC).
Results:
In total, 40.5% used medicine for headache in the past month. There was a significant increase from 32.3% in 1991 to 42.8% in 2002 (test for trend, p < 0.0001) and very little change 2002-2014. This pattern was similar in high, middle and low OSC. The prevalence of medicine use for headache in high, middle and low OSC was 36.2%, 41.5% and 44.8% (p < 0.0001). The OR (95% CI) for medicine use was 1.25 (1.18-1.324) in middle and 1.43 (1.33-1.54) in low OSC.
Conclusions:
Medicine use for headache increased 1991-2002 and remained stable 2002-2014. There was increasing medicine use for headache with decreasing OSC; this social inequality was persistent 1991-2014.
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