10.12.14
Nearly 50% of people take prescription drugs regularly
Half of women and 43% of men in England are now regularly taking prescription drugs, according to the comprehensive Health Survey for England.
The report, by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), showed an average of 18.7 prescriptions per person in England in 2013, with the cost to the NHS being in excess of £15bn a year.
Cholesterol-lowering statins, pain relief and anti-depressants were among the most prescribed medicines.
The figures also show that more than a fifth of men and nearly a quarter of women were taking at least three prescriptions, excluding contraceptives and products to help people stop smoking.
Nearly a third of prescriptions were for cardiovascular disease, with more than 65 million prescriptions for tackling high blood pressure, heart failure or cholesterol levels.
Prescribed medicine use rose with age, with more than half of participants aged 65-74 and more than 70% of those aged 75 and over taking at least three prescribed medicines. Approximately half of men aged 65 and above were taking cholesterol-lowering medicines such as statins.
Simvastatin – which lowers cholesterol – was the single most prescribed item with 40 million prescriptions.
Dr Jennifer Mindell, one of the report's authors at University College London, said: "This is the first nationally-representative study to report on the use of prescribed medicines taken by people in the community, not just those within the healthcare system.
"That half of men over 65 are taking cholesterol-lowering medicines reflects the high risk of cardiovascular disease in this group.
"Stopping smoking, being a healthy weight, eating more vegetables and fruit, and being physically active reduce people's risk of these diseases, for people who want to avoid taking medicines."
While cholesterol-lowering medicines were more common among men, antidepressants were taken by around 11% of women compared with 5.5% of men. Antidepressant use was most common among middle-aged women, with 16% of 45-64 year old women reporting taking them. There was also a significant gap between rich and poor, with 17% of the nation’s poorest women reporting taking antidepressants compared with 7% of the richest.
Dr Sarah Jackson, at University College London, commented: "It's well-known that rates of depression are much higher among women than men, so I am not surprised to see that antidepressant use follows the same pattern in this study.
"People with depression are less likely to be in regular employment, and people who are unemployed or in low paid jobs are more likely to have depression."
Higher BMI was also linked to greater medicine use, with more than half of more severely obese participants reporting taking at least one prescribed medicine and a third of them taking three or more. Many had been prescribed painkillers, antidepressants, medicines to lower cholesterol, and/or medicines to reduce blood pressure.
Sue Faulding, a pharmacist and programme manager of prescribing and primary care services at the HSCIC, said: "Obesity is often associated with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, joint pain and depression.
"Lifestyle changes are always recommended in the first instance, but medicines can help to address the symptoms and this study shows that medicine use increases steadily with body mass index."
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