| Abstract [eng] |
The Tendencies of Usage of Antibiotics and Probiotics among the Students of Vilnius University Antibiotics are one of the major medical breakthroughs of the last century. With timely and appropriate selection, this medicine often saves a patient’s life. High and inappropriate use of antibiotics raises concern that the society can end up being unarmed again in fighting infections as it had been before antibiotics were discovered and it becomes a real threat. Probiotics have recently become a highly topical subject in the modern society; they possess positive characteristics for health. A number of studies have been conducted both in Lithuania and abroad. However, this issue has not been much researched among students while there are almost no studies about the use of probiotics. In order to fill this gap and to find out about the use of both antibiotics and probiotics among students, we have planned a research the aim of which is: to identify the peculiarities of the use of antibiotics and probiotics among the students of Vilnius University. The goals of the research: 1. To identify the frequency and reasons of the use of antibiotics. 2. To identify and evaluate the frequency of self-medication with antibiotics. 3. To identify the frequency and reasons of the use of probiotics. The research methodology: 703 students from the Faculties of Medicine, Communication and Law at Vilnius University were interviewed using an anonymous questionnaire. Computer programmes SPSS 21.0 and WinPepi 11.46 were employed for the analysis of the collected data. Pearson’s chi-squared test was applied for the comparison of qualitative values while in the cases when there were less than 5 probable answers Fisher‘s exact test was applied. The statistical significance level used is α = 0.05, when the p < α difference was considered as statistically significant. The results: The results of the research show that the major part of the students from the Faculties of Medicine, Communication and Law at Vilnius University rarely use antibiotics (0-2 times a year). It was found that it is more typical of men (30.1 percent) than women (14.9 percent) to use antibiotics. Antibiotics are mainly used by students in the cases of upper respiratory tract diseases. The major part of the respondents (66.3 percent) indicated that they do not use antibiotics without a prescription from a doctor. The majority of the respondents (54.1 percent) indicated that they use probiotics. More men than women do not use probiotics. The major part of the respondent use probiotics because of a doctor’s prescription and because lower probability of side effects of the use of antibiotics is ensured. Key words: antibiotics, probiotics, students. |
