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Use of prescribed medications in a South Australian community sample
Author(s) -
Goldney Robert D,
Fisher Laura J
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb07030.x
Subject(s) - medical prescription , medicine , government (linguistics) , metropolitan area , family medicine , australian population , sample (material) , population , demography , environmental health , nursing , linguistics , philosophy , chemistry , chromatography , pathology , sociology
Objective: To determine the extent of self‐reported use of prescription medications in an Australian community sample. Design, setting and participants: Face‐to‐face interviews with a random, representative sample of the South Australian population (aged ≥ 15 years) living in metropolitan and rural areas. The study, a Health Omnibus Survey, was conducted between March and June 2004. Main outcome measures: Reported number of prescribed medications used per person, most common categories of medication, and use by individuals of multiple medications for the same body system. Results: From 4700 households selected, 3015 participants were interviewed (65.9% response rate). Of respondents, 46.8% were using prescribed medications; 171 respondents (5.7%) were taking six or more medications, and four were taking 16 or more; 23.2% were using medications for the cardiovascular system, with 11.9% using agents acting on the renin–angiotensin system. Prescription medication use increased with age, with over 10% of respondents aged ≥ 55 years using six or more medications. Conclusions: Use of multiple prescribed medications was common, with the potential for significant drug interactions. Assuming a similar pattern of medication use Australia‐wide, reducing the number of prescribed medications by one for people taking six or more medications would save the federal government about $380 million a year.