Prevalence and Factors Associated with Self-Medication in Dermatology in Togo

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with self-medication in dermatology in Lomé, Togo. Methods We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study from February to April 2016 in 2 dermatology departments in Lomé. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were carried out to identify possible factors associated with self-medication. Results A total of 711 patients were included in the study. The mean age (±SD) of the patients was 26.6 ± 6.9 years and the sex ratio (male/female) was 0.6. The main dermatologic diseases recorded were immunoallergic dermatoses (39.7%) and infectious skin diseases (22.6%). Two-thirds (481/711; 66.7%) of the patients had practiced self-medication before consultation in dermatology units. In multivariate analysis, factors associated with self-medication were female sex (aOR = 1.44; 95% CI = [1.01, 2.05]), duration of dermatologic disease more than one year (aOR = 1.79; IC = [1.19, 2.68]), adnexal dermatoses (aOR = 2.31; 95% IC = [1.03–5.21]), keratinization disorders (aOR = 4.23; 95% CI = [1.36–13.13]), and fungal skin infections (aOR = 5.43; 95% CI = [2.20, 13.38]). Conclusion Our study confirms that self-medication practice is very common among patients with dermatologic diseases in Lomé and has identified associated factors.

Indigenous Therapies for Skin Diseases in Sub‐Saharan Africa

“…The consequence of this is the use of over the counter remedies by patients. A similar use of remedies by majority of patients prior to clinic attendance has been documented in other studies (Kombate et al, 2017;Mustafa & Rohra, 2017). Most of the patients in this study had an inflammatory disease.…”

“…The reports from this study are at variance with that by Lindberg where the more female gender was found to be more likely to use herbal medications (Olaitan, ). Kombate et al () in Lome found a high level of education to be protective against the use of herbal medications just as in this study.…”

“…The prevalence of this use of self‐care products by patients is reported to be 5.0% in Sweden (Lindberg, Isacson, & Bingefors, ), 6% in Brazil (Padoveze, Nascimento, Ferreira, & Neves, ), 65.6% in Saudi Arabia (Mustafa & Rohra, ), and 74.4% in Togo (Kombate et al, ). Typically, reports of self‐medication are lower in developed countries than in developing countries (Kombate et al, ; Lindberg et al, ; Padoveze et al, ). This difference in prevalence between developing and developed counties is accounted for by the lack of medical insurance and difficulty with assessing the services of a specialist doctor in developing countries (Lindberg et al, ; Padoveze et al, ).…”

“…A higher level of education is associated with less the likelihood of the use of traditional medicines (Kombate et al, 2017). Also, females have been found to engage more in the use of traditional medicines than men; this may be attributed to the better healthseeking behavior of females (Kombate et al, 2017;Lindberg et al, 2014). The Western-style medications used by patients include steroids, triple action creams, antibiotics, moisturizers, and antifungals (Mustafa & Rohra, 2017).…”

Factors Predicting Heart Failure in Children Admitted to a Pediatric Emergency Ward in a Developing Country

“…Selfmedication with both prescription and over-the-counter drugs is a common problem in developing countries, unlike in developed countries, where self-medication usually involves only over-the-counter drugs . [45][46][47][48][49] The incidence of selfmedication varies in developing countries, ranging from 12.4 to 91.3%. In our patient population 43% took self-prescribed over-the-counter drugs.…”