Identifying new risk factors for Irresponsible non-prescription drugs use among Higher Education Institutions' Students in Emirates

Purpose: Higher Education Institution (HEI) students in United Arab Emirates (UAE) are at risk of using Oral Non-Prescription Drugs (ONPD) irresponsibly.  The aim of this research is to identify risk factors for irresponsible ONPD use and inform recommendations that promote responsible ONPD use among HEI students in the UAE. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted with 2875 students in three randomly selected UAE universities between January to April 2014.  Results: More than half (1348; 57%) of participants reported using of ONPD in the past 90 days before study commencement. Of 1348 participants reported using ONPD, one quarter (1348; 22.2%) of ONPD was classified as irresponsible ONPD usage. Analgesic/antipyretic (84.9%), Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) (1028; 76.3%), and to cough and cold related drugs (562; 41.7%) were reported by the majority of participants as the most commonly used ONPD.     In this model, ten explanatory variables were identified as statistically significant risk factors of irresponsible ONPD use.  Participants with age group of 21 years and older (OR = 0.554, 95% CI: .373-.823) (p < 0.001), female respondents (OR =0.339, 95% CI:0.236-.486) (p < 0.001), and students from medical schools (OR = 0.619, 95% CI: 0.435-0.882, p value= 0.008) had a lower odds of being irresponsible users compared  to lower age group, males and students from non-medical schools.  Interestingly participants with a polypharmacy behaviour had higher odds of being irresponsible ONPD user than monopharmacy users (OR =1.400, 95% CI: 1.030-1.02) (p < 0.001). Policy recommendation: The present study identified 10 reported risk factors for irresponsible ONPD use which might play a role in the design of effective interventions to promote healthy use of drugs among HEI students in UAE.