Self-Reported Medication Use among Pregnant and Postpartum Women during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

doi:10.3390/ijerph19095335

. 2022 Apr 27;19(9):5335.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095335.

Self-Reported Medication Use among Pregnant and Postpartum Women during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

Eva Gerbier^{1

2}, Guillaume Favre¹, Fatima Tauqeer³, Ursula Winterfeld⁴, Milos Stojanov¹, Alison Oliver⁵, Anneke Passier⁶, Hedvig Nordeng^{3

7}, Léo Pomar^{1

8}, David Baud¹, Alice Panchaud^{1

2

9}, Carla Meyer-Massetti^{9

10}, Michael Ceulemans^{6

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ Materno-Fetal and Obstetrics Research Unit, Department "Woman-Mother-Child", Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
² Service of Pharmacy, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
³ Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, PharmaTox Strategic Initiative, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, N-0315 Oslo, Norway.
⁴ Swiss Teratogen Information Service and Clinical Pharmacology Service, CHUV, 1066 Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁵ UK Teratology Information Service, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the UK Health Security Agency, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3HD, UK.
⁶ Teratology Information Service, Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb, 's Hertogenbosch, 5237 MH Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
⁷ Department of Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, N-0213 Oslo, Norway.
⁸ School of Health Sciences (HESAV), University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁹ Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Pharmacology & Toxicology, Department of General Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland.
¹¹ Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
¹² L-C&Y-KU Leuven Child & Youth Institute, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.

PMID: 35564733
PMCID: PMC9100043
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19095335

Self-Reported Medication Use among Pregnant and Postpartum Women during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

Eva Gerbier et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022.

. 2022 Apr 27;19(9):5335.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095335.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Materno-Fetal and Obstetrics Research Unit, Department "Woman-Mother-Child", Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
² Service of Pharmacy, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
³ Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, PharmaTox Strategic Initiative, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, N-0315 Oslo, Norway.
⁴ Swiss Teratogen Information Service and Clinical Pharmacology Service, CHUV, 1066 Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁵ UK Teratology Information Service, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the UK Health Security Agency, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3HD, UK.
⁶ Teratology Information Service, Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb, 's Hertogenbosch, 5237 MH Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
⁷ Department of Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, N-0213 Oslo, Norway.
⁸ School of Health Sciences (HESAV), University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁹ Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Pharmacology & Toxicology, Department of General Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland.
¹¹ Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
¹² L-C&Y-KU Leuven Child & Youth Institute, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.

PMID: 35564733
PMCID: PMC9100043
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19095335

Abstract

Information on medication utilization among pregnant and postpartum women during the pandemic is lacking. We described the prevalence and patterns of self-reported medication use among pregnant and postpartum women during the third wave of the pandemic (June-August 2021). An online questionnaire was distributed in five European countries between June-August 2021. Pregnant women or women who had delivered in the three preceding months, and ≥18 years old, could participate. The prevalence of overall medication use, self-medication, and changes in chronic medication use were determined. A total of 2158 women out of 5210 participants (41.4%) used at least one medication. Analgesics (paracetamol), systemic antihistamines (cetirizine), and drugs for gastric disorders (omeprazole) were the three most used classes. Anti-infectives were less prevalent than during pre-pandemic times. Antidepressants and anxiety related medication use remained similar, despite a higher prevalence of these symptoms. Self-medication was reported in 19.4% of women, and 4.1% of chronic medication users reported that they changed a chronic medication on personal initiative due to the pandemic. In conclusion, medication use patterns in our cohort were mostly similar to those of the first COVID-19 wave and the pre-pandemic period. More studies are needed to explore factors associated with self-medication and changes in chronic medication use due to the pandemic in this perinatal population.

Keywords: COVID-19; Europe; chronic disease; drug utilization; medication use; pandemic; pharmacoepidemiology; postpartum; pregnancy; self-medication.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Flowchart of the study participants.

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References

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[1] Wu T., Jia X., Shi H., Niu J., Yin X., Xie J., Wang X. Prevalence of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Affect. Disord. 2021;281:91–98. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.117. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] Wu T., Jia X., Shi H., Niu J., Yin X., Xie J., Wang X. Prevalence of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Affect. Disord. 2021;281:91–98. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.117. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] Ceulemans M., Foulon V., Ngo E., Panchaud A., Winterfeld U., Pomar L., Lambelet V., Cleary B., O’Shaughnessy F., Passier A., et al. Mental health status of pregnant and breastfeeding women during the COVID-19 pandemic-A multinational cross-sectional study. Acta Obstet. Gynecol. Scand. 2021;100:1219–1229. doi: 10.1111/aogs.14092. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Ceulemans M., Foulon V., Ngo E., Panchaud A., Winterfeld U., Pomar L., Lambelet V., Cleary B., O’Shaughnessy F., Passier A., et al. Mental health status of pregnant and breastfeeding women during the COVID-19 pandemic-A multinational cross-sectional study. Acta Obstet. Gynecol. Scand. 2021;100:1219–1229. doi: 10.1111/aogs.14092. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. [(accessed on 22 December 2021)]. Available online: https://covid19.who.int.

[6] WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. [(accessed on 22 December 2021)]. Available online: https://covid19.who.int.

[7] Nasserie T., Hittle M., Goodman S.N. Assessment of the Frequency and Variety of Persistent Symptoms among Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review. JAMA Netw. Open. 2021;4:e2111417. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.11417. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Nasserie T., Hittle M., Goodman S.N. Assessment of the Frequency and Variety of Persistent Symptoms among Patients with COVID-19: A Systematic Review. JAMA Netw. Open. 2021;4:e2111417. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.11417. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Bernal A.J., da Silva M.M.G., Musungaie D.B., Kovalchuk E., Gonzalez A., Reyes V.D., Martín-Quirós A., Caraco Y., Williams-Diaz A., Brown M.L., et al. Molnupiravir for Oral Treatment of COVID-19 in Nonhospitalized Patients. N. Engl. J. Med. 2022;386:509–520. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2116044. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Bernal A.J., da Silva M.M.G., Musungaie D.B., Kovalchuk E., Gonzalez A., Reyes V.D., Martín-Quirós A., Caraco Y., Williams-Diaz A., Brown M.L., et al. Molnupiravir for Oral Treatment of COVID-19 in Nonhospitalized Patients. N. Engl. J. Med. 2022;386:509–520. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2116044. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Self-Reported Medication Use among Pregnant and Postpartum Women during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

Affiliations

Self-Reported Medication Use among Pregnant and Postpartum Women during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

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Cited by

References

Publication types

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LinkOut - more resources

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Medical