Table 1.
Prescription claims by medication class for primary care patients aged 65+ in Ontario, Canada
| MEDICATION CLASS | NUMBER OF CLAIMS | PROPORTION OF TOTAL CLAIMS | CLAIMS PER PERSON | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2006 | Change | 1997 | 2006 | Change | 1997 | 2006 | Change | |
| Osteoporosis | 61,636 | 1,508,457 | 2,347% | 0.38% | 2.92% | 668% | 0.0445 | 0.919 | 1,965% |
| Lipid-lowering | 445,390 | 3,549,066 | 697% | 2.74% | 6.88% | 151% | 0.3216 | 2.1621 | 572% |
| Thyroid replacements | 484,499 | 1,724,859 | 256% | 2.98% | 3.34% | 12% | 0.3499 | 1.0508 | 200% |
| Psychotropics | 1,899,995 | 6,716,502 | 254% | 11.70% | 13.02% | 11% | 1.3721 | 4.0918 | 198% |
| Cardiovascular | 4,506,488 | 15,557,064 | 245% | 27.75% | 30.16% | 9% | 3.2544 | 9.4776 | 191% |
| Diabetes | 686,009 | 2,341,826 | 241% | 4.22% | 4.54% | 8% | 0.4954 | 1.4267 | 188% |
| Gastrointestinal | 1,764,359 | 5,326,708 | 202% | 10.87% | 10.33% | -5% | 1.2741 | 3.2451 | 155% |
| Narcotics/analgesics | 638,156 | 1,350,001 | 112% | 3.93% | 2.62% | -33% | 0.4608 | 0.8224 | 78% |
| Corticosteroids | 640,422 | 1,089,796 | 70% | 3.94% | 2.11% | -46% | 0.4625 | 0.6639 | 44% |
| NSAIDs | 1,094,162 | 1,816,538 | 66% | 6.74% | 3.52% | -48% | 0.7902 | 1.1067 | 40% |
| Asthma/COPD | 708,109 | 1,106,389 | 56% | 4.36% | 2.15% | -51% | 0.5114 | 0.674 | 32% |
| Antibiotics | 865,051 | 1,261,464 | 46% | 5.33% | 2.45% | -54% | 0.6247 | 0.7685 | 23% |
| All other classes | 2,619,665 | 7,685,790 | 193% | 15.06% | 15.96% | 6% | 1.8918 | 4.6823 | 148% |