I keep forgetting that the “Pill Cure” generation may involve more that one generation. As such I should not have been surprised, but still this study is a little disconcerting. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) reports that prescription drug usage is rising in the US.
A little surprising is the four medications topping the list – statins, asthma meds, antidepressants, and stimulants. According to a study released by the CDC supposedly on September 2, over the last ten years, the percentage of Americans taking at least one prescription drug went from 44 percent to 48 percent.
Those people using two or more drugs went from 25 percent to 31 percent and people using five or more prescription drugs went from six percent to eleven percent. The study also said that 20 percent of children and 90 percent of adults of the age 60 and older reported using one prescription drug in a one month period.
It is no wonder then that the amount spent for prescription drugs doubled in cost from 1999 to 2008. This also points out why among seniors, the use of many drugs is causing harmful drug interactions.
The study also points out that women are more likely than men to use prescription drugs and that white Caucasians had the highest use of prescription drugs. The access to insurance also helped facilitate the higher use of prescription drugs.
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