title: A longitudinal comparison of drug use among 10-year-old children and 15-year-old adolescents from the German GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to compare longitudinal data on drug utilization between 10-year-old children and 15-year-old adolescents and to analyse the association of drug use at the age of 15 years with drug use at the age of 10 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on the German GINIplus (German infant study on the Influence of Nutrition Intervention plus environmental and genetic influences on allergy development) and LISAplus (Influence of lifestyle factors on the immune system and allergies in East and West Germany plus the influence of traffic emissions and genetics) birth cohorts, data on drug utilization (past 4 weeks) were collected using a self-administered questionnaire for 3642 children (10-year follow-up) and 4677 adolescents (15-year follow-up). The drugs were classified by therapeutic categories (conventional drugs, homeopathic drugs, etc.) and by codes according to the anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) classification system. Associations of adolescents' drug use with gender, study area, maternal education, parental income, presence of chronic conditions, and prior drug use at the age of 10 years were analysed using a logistic regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 4-week prevalence rates of overall drug use were similar for adolescents (41.1%) and children (42.3%). However, adolescents used noticeably more anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, and systemic antihistamines. Exactly 3194 children/adolescents participated in both follow-ups. Adolescents' use of anti-inflammatory drugs was predicted (OR = 3.37) by use of anti-inflammatory drugs as a child. In summary, the strongest predictor of adolescents' use of specific therapeutic categories or ATC groups was the previous use of the same therapeutic drug category or ATC group as a 10-year-old child.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite similar prevalence rates of overall drug utilization among both age groups, there is a noticeable difference concerning the use of drugs from specific ATC groups. Drug use as a child may partly determine what they use as an adolescent.
authors.affiliation: Department of International Health, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Duboisdomein 30, 6229 GT, Maastricht, The Netherlands. salvatore.italia@maastrichtuniversity.nl.|Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany. salvatore.italia@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Italia
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Brüske
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Marien-Hospital Wesel, Pastor-Janßen-Str. 8-38, 46483, Wesel, Germany.
authors.forename: Dietrich
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berdel
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Marien-Hospital Wesel, Pastor-Janßen-Str. 8-38, 46483, Wesel, Germany.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Berg
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Immunology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Standl
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Silke B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Wolfenstetter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescent; Anti-inflammatory drugs; Child; Drug utilization; Germany; Longitudinal study