Dive Brief:
- Almost 60% of U.S. adults took at least one prescription pill between 2011 and 2012 and 15% took five or more, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports. This was a substantial increase from 1999 data when 51% adults took at least one prescription drug and 8% took five or more.
- The 10 most used drugs in 2011 and 2012 included eight to treat diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or obesity.
- The most popular medications used by 27% of adults in 2011 and 2012 were for high blood pressure, followed by statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs, which increased from 8% (1999 -2000) to 18% (2011-2012). Antidepressant prescription use nearly doubled from 7% to 13% during the same time period, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.
Dive Insight:
The study looked at data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), an ongoing study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that asked adults over the age of 20 whether they had taken a prescription drug in the past 30 days. Responses from about 38,000 people were included.
The most popular drug was Zocor, a cholesterol-lowering drug, taken by 8% of Americans.
The study's lead author, Elizabeth Kantor of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, said it's difficult to pinpoint what is driving the increase in prescription drug use. Several factors include old drugs that lose patent protection and drop in price, an aging population, changes in clinical guidelines and policies for drug marketing and promotions. However, when the researchers adjusted for age, the trend for increased prescription use remained. Obesity may be somewhat to blame since eight of the ten most commonly used drugs are for hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, gastroesophageal reflux, and cardiometabolic syndrome.
Some medications were used less, including hormones to treat menopause symptoms after it was discovered they were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
Dr. Suzanne Bertisch, a physician/clinical investigator at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told Reuters, "Even though increased use of some medications is beneficial from a public health perspective, the increased use of polypharmacy needs attention. While multiple medications are indicated in some patients, the potential interactions and adverse effects need to be monitored."