Prevalence of self-medication during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on travel and quarantine measures made people turn to self-medication (SM) to control the symptoms of their diseases. Different studies were conducted worldwide on different populations, and their results were different. Therefore, this global systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled prevalence of self-medication. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, databases of Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched without a time limit. All eligible observational articles that reported self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed. Heterogeneity among the studies was assessed using Cochran's Q test and I-2 statistics. A random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of self-medication. The methodological quality of the articles was evaluated with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: Fifty-six eligible studies were reviewed. The pooled prevalence of self-medication was 48.6% (95% CI: 42.8-54.3). The highest and lowest prevalence of self-medication was in Asia (53%; 95% CI: 45-61) and Europe (40.8%; 95% CI: 35-46.8). Also, the highest and lowest prevalence of self-medication was related to students (54.5; 95% CI: 40.8-68.3) and healthcare workers (32.5%; 16-49). The prevalence of self-medication in the general population (48.8%; 40.6-57) and in patients with COVID-19 (41.7%; 25.5-58). The prevalence of self-medication was higher in studies that collected data in 2021 than in 2020 (51.2 vs. 48%). Publication bias was not significant (p = 0.320). Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, self-medication was highly prevalent, so nearly half of the people self-medicated. Therefore, it seems necessary to provide public education to control the consequences of self-medication.