Factors influencing GI medication prescription
Table 2 shows the results of the logistic regression analysis. Women were more likely than men to be prescribed unnecessary GI medications (OR=1.314, 95% CI=1.144-1.508). Physician specialties influenced unnecessary prescription of GI medication; paediatricians were the least likely to prescribe unnecessary GI medications (OR=0.479, 95% CI=0.307-0.732), whereas surgeons were most associated with unnecessary GI medication prescription (OR=1.655, 95% CI=1.171-2.345).
Geographic variations were observed across regions. People in urban areas had 1.74-fold greater odds of being prescribed unnecessary GI medications than those in metropolitan areas. A similar pattern was observed in rural areas, but with slightly lower odds (OR=1.191, 95% CI=1.016-1.396). The use of NSAIDs was directly related to the unnecessary prescription of GI medications. When study subjects were prescribed NSAIDs as cold medicine, the probability of unnecessary GI drugs being prescribed was approximately two times higher than that of those who were not prescribed NSAIDs (OR=1.903, 95% CI=1.648-2.199). Patients who were prescribed 3 and ≥ 4 cold medicines were less likely to also be prescribed GI drugs, and the ORs were 0.568 (95% CI=0.440-0.731) and 0.471 (95% CI=0.360-0.616), respectively.