Details:

Alternative Title:
J Prim Care Community Health
Publisher's site:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2150131912442388
Personal Author:
Rosenwald, Kent ; Ertl, Kristyn ; Fletcher, Kathlyn E. ; Whittle, Jeff
Rosenwald, Kent ; Ertl, Kristyn ; Fletcher, Kathlyn E. ; Whittle, Jeff Less -
Description:
BACKGROUND

Although arthritis is disabling, highly prevalent, and often treated without health professional input, little is known about the treatments selected by affected individuals. Such information is important because of the toxicity associated with some arthritis treatments.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the pattern of drug treatment use in a sample of persons with arthritis.

DESIGN, SETTING and PATIENTS

We distributed an 11-item survey to veterans attending veterans’ organization post meetings in southeastern Wisconsin during November and December 2009. Of 32 posts, 26 (81%) returned surveys from 446 persons; survey count and attendance figures suggest the vast majority of attendees completed surveys at participating posts. Most respondents were older (75% aged 60 years or older) men (90%).

MEASUREMENTS

Respondents with arthritis reported whether they had used each of seven drug therapies in the past year.

RESULTS

Almost all members of participating posts responded to the survey, increasing the likelihood this was a representative sample. Most (290/446, 65%) respondents reported having arthritis, which impaired function in 78.6% of them. Most of those with arthritis (252/290, 86.9%) had used at least one drug treatment for arthritis in the last year. Acetaminophen use (41.6%) and use of an over the counter NSAID (42.1%) were common. NSAID use did not decrease with older age, or increase with greater functional impairment.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-medication for arthritis is very common and often does not follow clinical guidelines. Efforts to improve the quality of osteoarthritis care that focus solely on healthcare providers are unlikely to ensure optimal osteoarthritis care.


Subject:
[+]
Article
Source:
J Prim Care Community Health. 3(4):272-277.
Pubmed ID:
23804172
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC4843801
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
R49 CE001175/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States ; T35 AG029793/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
R49 CE001175/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States ; T35 AG029793/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States Less -
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:4b5b89e8e7a46a15b92b32ee4d34802e1165df992a1d90f30907c0020a6935a4
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/42107/cdc_42107_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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