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Table 4 Characteristics associated with expressing a need for more information about own medications. (Multiple Logistic Regression, n = 9,194)

From: Self-reported medication information needs among medication users in a general population aged 40 years and above – the Tromsø study

Variables

Categories

n

SLR

MLR

OR (95% CI)

OR (95% CI)

Age Groupsa

40–49

2,236

1.0

1.0

50–59

2,547

0.96 (0.83–1.12)

0.96 (0.80–1.14)

60–69

2,563

0.96 (0.83–1.11)

0.98 (0.81–1.17)

70–79

1,474

0.95 (0.80–1.12)

1.06 (0.84–1.32)

80 + 

374

0.99 (0.77–1.27)

1.21 (0.86–1.71)

Education

Primary School

2,343

0.85 (0.73–0.99)*

0.75 (0.62–0.91)*

Upper secondary education

2,589

0.91 (0.79–1.06)

0.86 (0.73–1.02)

College/University < 4 years

1,846

1.07 (0.92–1.25)

0.94 (0.79–1.13)

College/University ≥ 4 years

2,416

1.0

1.0

Health statusb

Bad

746

2.53 (2.12–3.00)*

1.11 (0.88–1.40)

Neither bad nor good

3,015

1.95 (1.74–2.18)*

1.34 (1.16–1.55)*

Good

5,433

1.0

1.0

Low faith in doctorc

Not at all

6,387

1.0

1.0

Moderately

2,591

2.61 (2.33–2.92)*

1.57 (1.36–1.81)*

A great deal

216

3.67 (2.77–4.87)*

1.83 (1.29–2.59)

Worry about own healthc

Not at all

3,253

1.0

1.0

Moderately

5,453

2.48 (2.17–2.84)*

1.25 (1.06–1.47)*

A great deal

488

4.60 (3.72–5.71)*

1.30 (0.95–1.74)

Anxious or depressedd

Not at all

6,877

1.0

1.0

Moderately

2,198

2.02 (1.80–2.26)*

1.17 (1.02–1.36)*

A great deal

119

1.70 (1.12–2.60)*

0.81 (0.49–1.35)

Concerned about own medicationse

Not at all

7,372

1.0

1.0

Concerned

1,822

6.40 (5.71–7.18)

5.07 (4.43–5.81)*

Medications for heart diseasef

Yes

1,774

1.73 (1.53–1.95)*

1.71 (1.46–2.01)*

No

7420

1.0

1.0

Medications for hypothyroidismf

Yes

1,007

1.33 (1.14–1.57)*

1.36 (1.13–1.64)*

No

8,187

 

1.0

Internet health adviceg

Used

4,883

1.0

1.0

Never

4,311

0.72 (0.65–0.80)*

0.85 (0.74–0.98)*

Information: reason for useh

Agree

8,488

1.0

1.0

Neither agree nor disagree

140

2.70 (1.94–3.80)*

1.14 (0.75–1.74)

Disagree

566

1.34 (1.10–1.63)*

0.68 (0.53–0.88)*

Information: side effectsh

Agree

6,137

1.0

1.0

Neither agree nor disagree

1,155

3.46 (2.99–4.00)*

2.52 (2.06–3.09)*

Disagree

1,902

3.16 (2.79–3.58)*

2.21 (1.83–2.68)*

Information: interactionsh

Agree

5,206

1.0

1.0

Neither agree nor disagree

1,482

2.74 (2.38–3.17)*

1.56 (1.28–1.91)*

Disagree

2,506

2.92 (2.59–3.30)*

1.75 (1.46–2.11)*

  1. Model summary: Omnibus test (Chi-square = 1513, df = 25, significant   < 0.001), Nagelkerke R2 (0.261), Hosmers & Lemenshow test (Chi-Square = 8.32, df = 8, significant = 0.403). Overall prediction = 85.7%. *Significant p < 0.05
  2. bAge groups are not associated with expressed need for information, however, this insignificant variable was included in the regression model to adjust for age
  3. bHealth status was aggregated into “Bad” (very bad and bad), “Neither bad nor good” and “Good” (good and excellent)
  4. cLow faith in doctors and worry about own health were aggregated into “Not at all”, “Moderately” (a little bit and moderately) and “A great deal” (quite a bit and a great deal)
  5. dAnxious and depressed was aggregated into “Not at all”, “Moderately” (slightly and moderately) and “A great deal” (severely and extremely)
  6. eConcerned about own medications was aggregated into “Not at all” and “Concerned” (concerned and very concerned)
  7. fMedicines for heart disease (e.g., nitroglycerin, antiarrhythmics, anticoagulants) and medications for hypothyroidism were aggregated into “Yes” (current use) and “No” (previously not currently and never used)
  8. gInternet health advice comprise four variables (apps, search engines, social media and video services shown in Table 2) and was aggregated into one new variable with two categories “Never” and “Used” (once, a few times and often)
  9. hInformation variables were aggregated into “Agree” (strongly agree GP and pharmacy, agree GP and pharmacy, strongly agree GP or pharmacy and agree GP or pharmacy), “Neither agree nor disagree GP and pharmacy) and “Disagree” (strongly disagree GP and pharmacy, disagree GP and pharmacy, strongly disagree GP or pharmacy and disagree GP or pharmacy)
  10. GP General practitioner, SLR Simple logistic regression, MLR Multiple logistic regression