Pubdate: Fri,  3 Dec 2004
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2004 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Robert Pear, New York Times
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

STUDY SHOWS TREND OF MORE AMERICANS TAKING MEDICATION

WASHINGTON - More than 40 percent of Americans take at least one
prescription drug, and 17 percent take three or more, the government
said Thursday in a comprehensive report on the nation's health.

The report documented the growing use of medications in the past
decade, a trend that it attributed to the growth of insurance coverage
for drugs, the discovery and marketing of new products, and clinical
guidelines that recommend greater use of drugs to treat high
cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and other disorders.

Health spending shot up 9.3 percent in 2002, to $1.6 trillion, but
Americans seem to be getting some benefits from it, the report said.
Life expectancy at birth increased to 77.3 years in 2002, a record,
and deaths from heart disease, cancer and stroke -- the nation's
leading killers -- declined.

But, the government noted, ``men and women have longer life
expectancies in many other countries,'' including Japan, Italy and
Canada.

Use of prescription drugs in the United States is rising among people
of all ages, and the nation's medicine chests are more crowded than
ever.

Prescription drugs account for about 10 percent of the nation's total
medical bill, but since 1995, drug spending has grown faster than
spending for any other category of medical goods and services, the
government said.

Nearly half of all women -- 49 percent -- were taking prescription
drugs in 1999-2000, compared with 39 percent of men.

Adults' use of antidepressants almost tripled from 1988 to 2000. Use
was higher among women than men. In 1999-2000, 10 percent of women 18
and older reported taking antidepressants in the previous month,
compared with 4 percent of men.

Use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs among people 45 and older
more than tripled from 1995 to 2002, the report said.

Amy B. Bernstein, chief of analytic studies at the National Center for
Health Statistics, which issued the report, said, ``Women 65 and older
are no less likely than men of the same age to have high cholesterol,
but doctors are less likely to report prescribing statins for their
female patients.''

Medical records from doctors' offices and outpatient hospital clinics
indicated that men 65 and older were about 25 percent more likely than
women to receive or be taking statin drugs, which include Lipitor,
Pravachol and Zocor.

The report also confirms a sharp increase in the use of stimulants by
children ages 5 to 17. Such drugs, like Ritalin, are often used to
treat the impulsive, aggressive traits known as attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric
disorder in children.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin