More Americans Than Ever Taking Prescription Drugs

Washington (dbTechno) - According to a new report, more Americans than ever are using prescription drugs on a regular basis.

The report comes from Medco Health Solutions Inc., which has come out and stated that in 2007, 51% of those who had health insurance were taking prescription drugs to help with chronic health problems.

They also found that 20% of people living in the U.S. are on three or more prescription drugs.

The age group of 20 to 44-year olds in the U.S. saw the biggest increase, as their use of prescription drugs jumped 20%.

Comparing these numbers to the 2006 numbers, you can clearly see that there has been an increase. The percent of those who were taking prescription drugs for chronic health problems was at 47% in 2006.

Much of the blame on the rise in use of prescription drugs has been given to obesity, stating Americans are becoming too comfortable with just popping a pill in their mouth.

Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer at Medco stated “These chronic conditions are incredibly costly for the nation and will become exponentially so if we’re seeing these problems show up at a younger and younger age.”

The expectation is that these numbers are only going to increase.