Angel Josabad Alonso-Castro
Departamento de Farmacia, División de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, México
Title: Title: Self-treatment with herbal products for anxiety and depression in central Mexico
Biography
Biography: Angel Josabad Alonso-Castro
Abstract
Departamento de Farmacia, División de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, México
Approximately 300 million people worldwide suffer depression and more than 260 million people suffer anxiety. According to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety are estimated to cause the loss of millions of dollars annually in the world economy due to lost productivity. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-medication with herbal products for the treatment of anxiety and depression in patients residing in four states (Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, State of Mexico, and Mexico City) from central Mexico. In addition, the factors related to self-medication among patients were studied. A total of 1600 patients were interviewed. A chi-square test examined associations between socio-demographic and socio-economic information, and self-medication with herbal products for the treatment of anxiety and depression. The main factors associated with self-medication are age and gender (female). The prevalence of self-medication was 40% among the participants who used herbal products for the treatment of anxiety and depression. The main herbal products used were based on: i) Valeriana spp., , ii) Passiflora spp., iii) lavender, and iv) chamomille. This study indicates the important need to educate patients about the harmful effects of consuming these products.
Keywords: self-medication, anxiety, depression, medicinal plant