More than one in four residents in the Alentejo aged 15 or over reported having taken medication without a medical prescription in 2025. The proportion reached 26.2% in the region, according to the results of the National Health Survey released by Statistics Portugal. This value places the Alentejo below the national average, which reached 33.2% across the country. The indicator refers to consumption in the two weeks prior to the interview, not necessarily representing a habitual pattern of self-medication.
Among the regions highlighted by Statistics Portugal, the Algarve recorded the highest proportion, with 38.6%, followed by Greater Lisbon with 38%. The national results also reveal significant differences between age groups, with the highest proportion of non-prescription medication use occurring among those aged 35 to 44, reaching 40.4%.
The National Health Survey also outlines the profile of habitual prescribed medication use in Portugal. Arterial hypertension emerges as the condition most associated with this use, covering 27% of the population aged 15 or over, followed by cholesterol or triglyceride medication, used by 24.4%. Habitual use was also recorded for insomnia in 14.7% of the population, anxiety in 12.1%, and depression in 9.3%.
Differences between generations extend to access to health services. More than 80% of the elderly population without education and retired reported having had at least one general medicine consultation in the last year, while among young people aged 15 to 24 the proportion was 56%. The 2025 National Health Survey was conducted by Statistics Portugal based on a representative sample of approximately 22,000 households in Portugal.
