Self-medication for anxiety symptoms in the context of COVID-19, in users who go to a drugstore in Los Olivos, Lima in 2021

Abstract

Background: Self-medication is a non-responsible act and leads to the inappropriate use of medications, causing low effectiveness and insecurity in treatments. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between self-medication and anxiety symptoms in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in users attending a pharmacy in Los Olivos, Lima in 2021. Methods: The research method was deductive, basic and with a quantitative approach; the design used was non-experimental, descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional, and prospective. Spearman's Rho analysis was performed to validate the hypothesis. Results: 384 users were evaluated, finding 93.5% aged 18-59 years, of whom 53.4% were female, 42.7% had completed high school, 57.8% were single and 51.6% presented physical symptoms, predominantly muscular tension accompanied by pain, 60.7% presented behavioral symptoms, highlighting unusual sadness in the face of COVID-19 and 70.1% presented cognitive symptoms with greater frequency of concern about contracting COVID-19. In addition, the greater the symptoms of anxiety, the higher the self-medication increased from 9.0% to 21.1%. A similar case was evidenced in self-medication on their own initiative where the increase was from 7.5% to 33.3%; likewise, self-medication without medical prescription increased from 15.8% to 47.7%, and the consumption of anxiolytics or antidepressants increased from 0.8% to 26.3% caused by the symptoms of anxiety. Conclusion: It was determined that there is a moderate relationship between self-medication and anxiety symptoms in the context of COVID-19, in users who go to a drugstore in Los Olivos, Lima in 2021.