SelfCare Focus: a selection of newly published papers on self-care from the worldwide literature. 3. Non-prescription purchase of antibiotics during travel abroad among a general adult population in Norway: Findings from the seventh Tromso Study
Non-prescription purchase of antibiotics during travel abroad among a general adult population in Norway: Findings from the seventh Tromso Study.
By: Gravningen K, Field N, Blix HS, Asfeldt AM, Smabrekke L.
PLoS One. 2020 Feb 13;15(2):e0228792. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228792. eCollection 2020..
Summary: Non-prescription purchase of antibiotics is undesirable and has not recently been investigated in a representative population in a high-income low-use country during travel abroad. This study examined self-reported prevalence of antibiotic purchase abroad with and without prescription among participants reporting international travel in a general adult population in Norway. They analyzed questionnaire data from 19995 participants from the population-based Tromso Study 7, 2015-2016. Over half of participants reported travel abroad of >1 week duration in the past year. In total, 17904 travel episodes to 148 countries were reported. Altogether, 3.7% had purchased antibiotic abroad in the past year. Non-prescription purchase (1.5%) was associated with younger age, being female, number of travels, occurrences of diarrhea, and antibiotic use in Norway in the past year.