Tuesday, July 18, 2017

47% Took Prescription Drug in Past 30 Days

Nearly half of Americans (47%) took at least one prescription drug in the past 30 days, according to the 2011–14 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The use of prescription drugs rises with age to more than 90 percent of people aged 65 or older...

Percent who took at least one prescription drug in past 30 days
Under age 18: 21.5%
Aged 18 to 44: 37.1%
Aged 45 to 64: 69.0%
Aged 65-plus: 90.6%

The use of multiple prescription drugs is becoming more common, especially among people aged 65 or older. Overall, 21.5 percent of Americans took three or more prescription drugs in the past 30 days in 2011–14, up from 11.8 percent who did so two decades earlier in 1988–94. Among people aged 65 or older, 67 percent took three or more prescription drugs in the past month, up from 31 percent in 1988–94.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Health, United States, 2016

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