Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1993 Nov;83(11):1577–1582. doi: 10.2105/ajph.83.11.1577

Prescription and nonprescription drug use among black and white community-residing elderly.

G G Fillenbaum 1, J T Hanlon 1, E H Corder 1, T Ziqubu-Page 1, W E Wall Jr 1, D Brock 1
PMCID: PMC1694904  PMID: 8238682

Abstract

OBJECTIVES. To examine and compare concomitants of prescription and nonprescription drug use of Black and White community-dwelling elderly. METHODS. Information on prescription and nonprescription drug use, demographic and health characteristics, and use of health services was obtained from a probability-based sample of Black (n = 2152) and White (n = 1821) community-resident elderly in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Linear regression, in which sample weights and design effects were taken into account, was used for the final models. RESULTS. For prescription drug use, 37% and 32% of the variance was explained for Whites and Blacks, respectively (6% and 5% for nonprescription drugs). Health status and use of medical services were the strongest predictors of prescription drug use for both races (with Medigap insurance also important for Whites and Medicaid important for Blacks). Demographic characteristics and self-assessed health were significant factors in the use of nonprescription drugs. Race independently predicted use of both types of drugs but explained only a small proportion of the variance. CONCLUSIONS. Health status and use of health services are importantly related to prescription drug use. Non-prescription drug use is difficult to explain.

Full text

PDF
1577

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aday L. A., Andersen R. A framework for the study of access to medical care. Health Serv Res. 1974 Fall;9(3):208–220. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baum C., Kennedy D. L., Forbes M. B., Jones J. K. Drug use in the United States in 1981. JAMA. 1984 Mar 9;251(10):1293–1297. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bush P. J., Osterweis M. Pathways to medicine use. J Health Soc Behav. 1978 Jun;19(2):179–189. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bush P. J., Rabin D. L. Medicines: who's using them? J Am Pharm Assoc. 1977 Apr;17(4):227–230. doi: 10.1016/s0003-0465(16)33964-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gagnon J. P., Salber E. J., Greene S. B. Patterns of prescription and nonprescription drug use in a southern rural area. Public Health Rep. 1978 Sep-Oct;93(5):433–437. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gibson R. C., Jackson J. S. The health, physical functioning, and informal supports of the black elderly. Milbank Q. 1987;65 (Suppl 2):421–454. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Guttmann D. Patterns of legal drug use by older Americans. Addict Dis. 1978;3(3):337–356. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hanlon J. T., Fillenbaum G. G., Burchett B., Wall W. E., Jr, Service C., Blazer D. G., George L. K. Drug-use patterns among black and nonblack community-dwelling elderly. Ann Pharmacother. 1992 May;26(5):679–685. doi: 10.1177/106002809202600514. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Helling D. K., Lemke J. H., Semla T. P., Wallace R. B., Lipson D. P., Cornoni-Huntley J. Medication use characteristics in the elderly: the Iowa 65+ Rural Health Study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1987 Jan;35(1):4–12. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1987.tb01312.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Heyman A., Fillenbaum G., Prosnitz B., Raiford K., Burchett B., Clark C. Estimated prevalence of dementia among elderly black and white community residents. Arch Neurol. 1991 Jun;48(6):594–598. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1991.00530180046016. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. House J. S., Kessler R. C., Herzog A. R. Age, socioeconomic status, and health. Milbank Q. 1990;68(3):383–411. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kotzan L., Carroll N. V., Kotzan J. A. Influence of age, sex, and race on prescription drug use among Georgia Medicaid recipients. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1989 Feb;46(2):287–290. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Liu K., Manton K. G., Liu B. M. Morbidity, disability, and long-term care of the elderly: implications for insurance financing. Milbank Q. 1990;68(3):445–492. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rosow I., Breslau N. A Guttman health scale for the aged. J Gerontol. 1966 Oct;21(4):556–559. doi: 10.1093/geronj/21.4.556. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sharpe T. R., Smith M. C., Barbre A. R. Medicine use among the rural elderly. J Health Soc Behav. 1985 Jun;26(2):113–127. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Stoller E. P. Prescribed and over-the-counter medicine use by the ambulatory elderly. Med Care. 1988 Dec;26(12):1149–1157. doi: 10.1097/00005650-198812000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Suzman R., Riley M. W. Introducing the "oldest old". Milbank Mem Fund Q Health Soc. 1985 Spring;63(2):177–186. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES