Trend in antibiotic prescription to children aged 0–6 years old in the capital region of Denmark between 2009 and 2018: Differences between municipalities and association with socioeconomic composition

BACKGROUND: To curb future antibiotic resistance it is important to monitor and investigate current prescription patterns of antibiotics. OBJECTIVES: To examine trends in antibiotic prescription to children aged 0–6 years old and the association with socioeconomic status of municipalities in the Capital region of Denmark between 2009 and 2018. METHODS: This is a register-based study combining data on antibiotic treatments from 2009 to 2018, inhabitant-data and socioeconomic municipality scores. Subjects were children aged 0–6 years, residing in the Capital Region of Denmark. The study quantifies the use of antibiotics as number of antibiotic treatments/1000 inhabitants/year (TIY), inhabitants defined as children aged 0–6. Socioeconomic status of the municipalities is evaluated by a score from 3 to 12. RESULTS: The average TIY of the municipalities decreased from 741.2 [95%CI 689.3–793.2] in 2009 to 348.9 [329.4–368.4] in 2018. The difference between the highest and lowest prescribing municipalities was reduced from 648.3 TIY in 2009–212.5 TIY in 2018. The average increase in TIY per unit increase in socioeconomic municipality score changed from 20.05 [7.69–31.06] in 2009 to −4.58 [-16.02–5.60] in 2018, representing a decreasing association between socioeconomic municipality score and use of antibiotic in the respective municipalities. CONCLUSION: The trend in antibiotic prescription to children aged 0–6 years old decreased substantially in all the investigated municipalities in the 10-year study period. Local differences in prescription rates declined towards a more uniform prescription pattern across municipalities and association with socioeconomic status of the municipalities was reduced.