Medication use for chronic health conditions among adults in Saudi Arabia: findings from a national household survey.
OBJECTIVE
Chronic diseases and their risk factors are believed to be common in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Most of them require long-term management through medications. We examined patterns of medication use for chronic health conditions (CHC) in KSA based on a national survey.


METHODS
The Saudi Health Interview Survey was a cross-sectional nationally representative household survey of 10,735 individuals aged 15 years or older in 2013. The survey consisted of a detailed health questionnaire. Current medications for CHC were assessed and classified based on the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification.


RESULTS
Among the respondents, 11.8% (standard error = 0.4) reported taking at least one medication for CHC with a mean number of 2.05 (standard error = 0.05) medication items. In addition to older age (odds ratio = 1.94 per each decade, 95%CI: 1.83-2.05) and male gender (odds ratio = 1.22, 95%CI: 1.06-1.41), those with higher income were more likely to take medication. The most common medicines were drugs used for diabetes (A10 Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical code). The top 20 drugs accounted for about 80% of all medications. Only 32.7% of medications were reported to be used exactly as prescribed.


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with the prevalence of CHC in KSA, our study indicates a potential underuse of medications as well as non-adherence to the directions for use. Interventions such as improved clinical guidelines for healthcare providers to increase utilization of necessary medication and educational programs to improve patients' adherence are needed.
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Maziar
M
Moradi-Lakeh
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Charbel
C
El Bcheraoui
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Farah
F
Daoud
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Marwa
M
Tuffaha
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Shelley
S
Wilson
Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammad
M
Al Saeedi
Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed
M
Basulaiman
Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ziad A
ZA
Memish
Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammad A
MA
AlMazroa
Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah A
AA
Al Rabeeah
Global Medicines Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.|Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.|Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Andy
A
Stergachis
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Ali H
AH
Mokdad
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
ATC classification; Saudi Arabia; adherence; medication; pharmacoepidemiology