Prescription drug use among adults aged 40-79 in the United States and Canada

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hales, Craig M. ; Servais, Jennifer ; Martin, Crescent B. ; Kohen, Dafna
• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.)
• Description:
  Key findings ; Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Canadian Health Measures Survey ; • Nearly 7 in 10 adults aged 40-79 used at least 1 prescription drug in the past 30 days in the United States (69.0%) and Canada (65.5%), and around 1 in 5 used at least 5 prescription drugs (22.4% in the United States and 18.8% in Canada). ; • Among adults aged 40-59, the most commonly used drug types in the United States were antidepressants, lipid-lowering drugs, and ACE inhibitors; in Canada, they were analgesics, antidepressants, and lipid-lowering drugs. ; • Among adults aged 60-79, the most commonly used drug types in the United States were lipid-lowering drugs, antidiabetic agents, and beta blockers; in Canada, they were lipid-lowering drugs, analgesics, and proton pump inhibitors. ; Patterns of prescription drug use may reflect underlying patterns of health conditions and health care access in the population. Polypharmacy, often defined as the simultaneous use of five or more prescription drugs, is more common in an aging population where multiple coexisting chronic conditions often occur; however, safety concerns may arise (1). The United States and Canada share many cultural and historical ties, but with different models for health care delivery (2). This report describes the use of one or more and five or more prescription drugs among adults aged 40-79 in the United States and Canada. ; Suggested citation: Hales CM, Servais J, Martin CB, Kohen D. Prescription drug use among adults aged 40-79 in the United States and Canada. NCHS Data Brief, no 347. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019 ; CS309277
• Subjects:
  • Adult
  • Prescription Drugs
• Source:
  National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
• Series:
  NCHS Data Briefs
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report ; Statistics
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• CIO:
  National Center for Health Statistics
• Topic:
  Health Statistics
• Issue:
  347
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/80810/cdc_80810_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 518.15 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Center for Health Statistics
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3a7ce383a758b3ebdf239172746018d9939987ca11f2a69582a1de1b1bfea5d271fe49ff6a426470441baffe91fb9223239a430731ee006950e2577cf49fb2f0