We take too many prescription drugs.  A study in JAMA(2015:314(17):1818-31. Nov. 3, 2015) was titled, “Trends in prescription drug use among adults in the U.S. from 1999-2012.”  The authors used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) which included 37,959 adults.  The authors found an increase in overall use of prescription drugs among US adults between 1999 and 2012. In 1999, 51% of U.S. adults reported using any prescription drugs and 59% reporting use in 2012.  That  is a 24% increase.  The prevalence of polypharmacy (>5 prescription drugs) increased from 9.2% in 1999 to 15% in 2012—a … Continue reading Prescription Drugs