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Determinants of medication use in multi-ethnic population of pregnant women: a cross-sectional study

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

OBJECTIVES:
To investigate determinants of medication use among multi-ethnic pregnant women.
METHODS:
A total of 641 pregnant women participated in this cross-sectional study in a Brussels university hospital. A questionnaire was used to obtain data on socio-demographic characteristics and medication use. Chi-squared tests and binary logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS 19.
RESULTS:
Medication use during pregnancy (37%) was positively associated with age older than 35 years, Western origin, being born in Belgium, high education and employment status. Highly educated Western women had a greater exposure to drugs with an unknown safety profile than Arab/Turkish and 'Other (non-Western) origins' women. In the latter two groups, low education and nulliparity were the most important determinants of lower drug use. Nulliparous Arab/Turkish women used significantly less medications (17%) during pregnancy than parous women with the same ethnic background (34%; p = 0.024).
CONCLUSIONS:
Medication use during pregnancy is considerable but differs according to ethnicity. Age, parity, educational level, occupational status and duration of stay in Belgium are important determinants that should be taken into account for risk assessment and preventive measures targeting pregnant women.

Journal: European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care
ISSN: 1362-5187
Issue: 2
Volume: 19
Pages: 108-120
Publication year:2014
Keywords:multi-ethnic population, medication, pregnancy
  • VABB Id: c:vabb:395032
  • ORCID: /0000-0002-2918-9703/work/107747307
  • ORCID: /0000-0003-4586-6919/work/62388765
  • Scopus Id: 84896137321