Factors associated with medicine use and self medication are different in adolescents.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of medicine use among high school students (14-18 years old) living in an urban area in Southern Brazil and the proportion who self-medicate and to explore the association between medicine use and demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral variables.

Methods: A school-based survey was conducted among high school students in the city of Maringá/PR, Brazil in 2007. The sample students were selected through two-stage random sampling.