OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATION USE AMONG US PRESCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN

Objective.-To estimate the prevalence of recent over-the-counter (OTC) medication use in a national sample of preschool-age children. Design .-Follow-up survey of a nationally representative sample of 3-year-old children in the US population by telephone or personal interview. Par ticipants.-A total of 8145 children whose mothers were interviewed for the 1991 Longitudinal Follow-up to the National Maternal and Infant H ealth Survey.Main Outcome Measures.-Report of any OTC medications give n in the past 30 days and the type of medications that the child recei ved. Results.-During the past 30 days, 53.7% of all 3-year-old childre n in the United States were given some OTC medications. Among OTC medi cation users, the most common medications reported were Tylenol (66.7% ) and cough or cold medicine (66.7%). Most respondents reported that r ecent child illness episodes (70%) were treated with OTC medications. After adjustment for recent child illness, women who were white (odds ratio [OR], 1.32; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.13 to 1.55), were mo re educated (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.24 to 2.00), and had higher incomes ( OR, 1.75; 95% Cl, 1.33 to 2.30) were more likely to have given their c hild OTC medications. Women without health insurance were also more li kely to have given OTC medications (OR, 1.27; 95% Cl, 1.04 to 1.55). P rovider visits, but not telephone calls, were associated with a reduct ion in OTC medication usage. Conclusions.-Over-the-counter medications are an important component of health care for treating illness in US preschool-age children. The high prevalence of use has occurred despit e the dearth of scientific proof for the effectiveness of certain clas ses of OTC medications and the risks associated with improper use.