Ann
Pharmacother 1992 Oct;26(10):1292-5
Antibiotic use in urban whites and blacks: the Minnesota Heart Survey.
Melnick SL, Sprafka JM, Laitinen DL, Bostick RM, Flack JM, Burke GL.
School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599.
OBJECTIVE: To assess racial differences in the use of
antibiotics, including penicillins, erythromycins, tetracyclines, sulfas,
and cephalosporins.
DESIGN: Population-based surveys, conducted from 1985
to 1987.
SETTING: The seven-county metropolitan area of Minneapolis-St.
Paul, MN.
PARTICIPANTS: 3127 whites (response rate 68 percent)
and 1047 blacks (response rate 65
percent), aged 35-74 years.
RESULTS: White women (26 percent of 1625) were more likely
to report having taken an antibiotic in the past year than were white
men (18 percent of 1502), black women (18 percent of 590), or black men
(15 percent of 457). Reported antibiotic usage decreased with increasing
age. Black men were more likely than white men to report the use of tetracyclines
or sulfas; otherwise, white men reported higher usage prevalences. White
women reported higher usage prevalences of all drug classes than black
women.
CONCLUSIONS: Significant independent predictors of antibiotic
use were younger age, white race, and female gender. Potential explanations
for these differences include differences in patient access, physician-prescribing
behaviors, or both.
PMID: 1421657 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
