150 million Americans take at least one prescription drug

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Prescription drug use in the U.S. has been rising steadily in the past decade and the trend shows no signs of slowing, the CDC says in a new report.

The study, published in the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief No. 42, says the percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the rose from 43.5% in 1999-2000 to 48.3% in the 2007-2008 period. This is concerning as it appears the dependency on prescription drugs is on the rise.

The use of two or more drugs increased from 25.4% to 31.2% over the same decade, and the use of five or more prescription medications jumped from 6.3% to 10.7%.

The report also says that in the 2007-2008 period:

  • One of every five children and nine out of 10 older Americans reported using at least one prescription drug in the month prior to being surveyed.
  • 22.4% of kids up to age 11 used at least one prescription drug.
  • 29.9% of young people 12-19 used at least one prescription drug.
  • 8.3% of people between 20 and 59 used at least one prescription medication.
  • 88.4% of Americans age 60 and over used at least one prescription drug, more than 76% used two or more prescription drugs in the past month, and 37% used five or more.


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Holte Ender

Holte Ender will always try to see your point of view, but sometimes it is hard to stick his head that far up his @$$.
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12 years ago

[…] an estimated 150 million Americans, God love them, take at least one prescription drug, falling for the reigning paradigm that disease is caused by a drug deficiency.  No sense making […]

Stella by Starlight
13 years ago

I have always felt the solution is to know facts about both pharmaceuticals and OTCs and keep up with research. For example, a study of thousands of people by the University of Oslo proved conclusively that glucosamine is not only useless, but can increase cholesterol and lipids. All medications’ effect dependnon individual ‘s particular physiology. Creating a good balance takes time. Sagatious Hillbilly, I found Niacin (B3) can help reducing lipids. Start with minimal amouts~the vitamin can cause intense itching and a bit of a burning feel. I hope that helps in conjunctio with your statis. I take a lot of Bs in general for energy. High-dose Bs work well for me, but check with a good dr to see if your liver can tolerate high dosages. Everyone’s needs differ.

Stella by Starlight
13 years ago

Some pharmaceuticals are absolutely necessary, such as neupogen to enhance the white blood cell count for chem patients who might not survive their treatment. Psychotropics. Antidepressants, work well provided willing to inv. Depression causes people an inability to express themselves, so the right medication can help immensely. however, too many pharmaceuticl companies create phamaceuticals to make money, of course. Three examples particularly annoy me. (1) Niaspan for removing fats from arteries, , an extended release niacin that i can pick up for about $7 over the counter (2\ Asome bogus Omega-3 drug, with limited effect as compared to OTC Omega 3-6-9, obtainable OTC at a far more reasonable price; and (3) Melatonin, found in sleep aids such as Lunesta. These are drugs coopted by big pharma profiting from supplements well know by those who investigated such alternatives available for decades and shunned by big pharman until they could

13 years ago

aspirin every day and 2 liters of Diet Mountain Dew.

They haven’t got a pill for RNS yet. (restless nerd syndrome)

Jess
Reply to  Krell
13 years ago

You might wanna cut back on doing the Dew, that probably helps with the restless nerd thing. Amount of caffeine and sugar, yeah even diet drinks that is in that. See no pill and Doctor Jess to the rescue, free even.

Reply to  Jess
13 years ago

All that good information and I didn’t even get asked to cough. It is a good day.

Jess
13 years ago

Not me, I look for holistic stuff or I smoke the demon plant. This is why they won’t allow weed to be legalized, it will take too much coin away from their coffers.

13 years ago

I take two. . . high blood pressure meds. . . THOSE RADICAL RIGHT WING EXTREMIST MOTHERFUCKERS PISS ME OFF SO BAD!!!!!!!!!
I gotta take something.

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