Americans will spend half their lives taking prescription drugs, Penn State study finds

Medicine

By Marc Lallanilla

If you’re American, you’re probably taking drugs or soon will be.

A new study finds that people born today in the United States will spend about half their lives taking prescription drugs.

And for women, that figure is closer to 60% of their lifetime.

The years people can expect to spend taking prescription drugs are now longer than those they might spend when first married, in school or in the workforce, said the study author Dr. Jessica Ho of Pennsylvania State University in a press release.

As an American, I would like to know what medications I’m putting in my body and how long I can expect to take them, she added. It is important to recognize the central role that prescription drug use plays in our lives.

Overprescribed medications

And it’s not just one drug: polypharmacy, when a person takes five or more drugs at the same time, has reached alarming levels.

In the mid-1990s, most people taking prescription medications took only one medication. But today, people who take prescription medications are likely to take five or more medications simultaneously.

A 2019 report found that antidepressants, opioid painkillers, proton pump inhibitors for indigestion, and levothyroxine for thyroid problems were among the most overprescribed medications in America.

Elsewhere, research has found that antibiotics are often prescribed for symptoms like a sore throat or cough when they shouldn’t be, because most of these conditions are caused by viruses making antibiotics useless, which attack bacteria.

More drugs = more money

Long-term use of multiple prescription medications has potential health effects, but it also impacts our wallet.

From 1980 to 2018, per capita spending on prescription drugs increased by more than 700 percent, from $140 to $1,073, adjusted for inflation, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Prescription drug spending reached $335 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $875 billion by 2026.

Higher impacts on women

In 2019, the average newborn can expect to take prescription medications for about 37 years, or 48% of their life. A newborn girl in 2019 could expect to wear them for about 47.5 years, or 60% of her life.

The impacts on women are greater, the study suggests, because most American women take prescription drugs starting at age 15.

We’re seeing that women are starting to take prescription drugs earlier than men, and that’s partly linked to birth control and hormonal contraceptives, Ho said. But it’s also linked to greater use of psychotherapeutic drugs and analgesics in women.

Reduce drug expenses

There are several ways to save on the cost of prescription drugs: Switching from brand name drugs to generic drugs is one strategy. And mail-order pharmacies can charge less for drugs than a brick-and-mortar pharmacy, according to Medicare.gov.

Some pharmaceutical companies offer programs to help pay for medications, including for people enrolled in MedicarePart D drug coverage.

States also often offer help paying for prescriptions, drug plan premiums, and other drug-related costs, usually called the State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program.

Additionally, Medicare and Social Security have a program called Extra Help, which allows people with limited income and resources to get help with the cost of prescription drugs.

This paper is not trying to say that the use of prescription drugs is right or wrong, Ho said. Clearly, they have made a difference in the treatment of many conditions, but there is growing concern to know how much is too much.

Extensive research shows that Americans are less healthy and live shorter lives than our counterparts in other high-income countries. The issue of prescription drugs is an integral part of this reality. What we’re seeing is that beyond what we might expect, rates of prescription drug use in the United States are extraordinarily high.