Overall Prescription Medication Use Among Adults :

232 WMJ • DECEMBER 2014 medication in the past month increased from 43% to 48% during the last decade; the proportion of those using at least 5 prescription medications increased from 6% to 11%, and 53% of women and 43% men used at least 1 prescription medication in the past month.1 Prescription drug spending was estimated at $234.1 billion in 2008, more than double the spending in 1999.1 The rapid increase in medication use does not appear to result in a proportionally equivalent degree of improved health outcomes, in part because medications are not always prescribed or used appropriately.2,3 Clinically indicated medications may be omitted, while inappropriate medications may be prescribed even though the potential risks outweigh the clinical benefits.3,4 For instance, aspirin was reported to be underused in high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk groups, but overused in low CVD risk groups among Wisconsin adults.5 A survey of Iowa Medicare beneficiaries found that 51% of respondents had received at least 1 potentially inappropriate prescription medication.6 Older adults are particularly vulnerable to medication-related problems because they are more likely to use multiple medications due to chronic diseases. According to another recent study, “a higher number of concurrent medicines is the only significant predictor of inappropriate medicine use.”7 Inappropriate prescribing of medications among the elderly is now considered a major public health issue, and advocates are calling for new prescribing criteria.4,7 Without sufficient knowledge about the prescription medication use patterns at a state or national level, it would be nearly impossible to determine whether or not medications have been prescribed appropriately and which areas public health policies should target. However, population-based studies of prevalence of prescription medication use are scarce. The most recent studies utilizing medication data from the National Social Life, INTRODUCTION Prescription medications have become a significant component of health care expenditures. According to data from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the percentage of Americans who took at least 1 prescription ABSTRACT Purpose: To analyze overall prescription medication use patterns among study participants in a representative statewide sample of Wisconsin adults.