TABLE 2.
Past month prescription medication use prevalence by weight status according to drug class and total medication use in U.S. adults aged 20 years and over, 2007 to 2012
| Underweight/normal weight |
Overweight |
Obesity |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Lower CI | Upper CI | % | Lower CI | Upper CI | % | Lower CI | Upper CI | |
| Total prescription medications | |||||||||
| None | 48.5 | 46.2 | 50.9 | 43.0 | 40.8 | 45.3 | 34.6 | 32.4 | 36.9 |
| 1–2 Medications | 32.0 | 30.3 | 33.8 | 30.5 | 28.8 | 32.2 | 27.0 | 25.7 | 28.4 |
| 3–4 Medications | 11.4 | 10.0 | 12.8 | 13.7 | 12.2 | 15.4 | 16.8 | 15.1 | 18.5 |
| 5–6 Medications | 4.7 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 8.4 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 11.0 |
| ≥7 Medications | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 6.3 | 11.6 | 10.5 | 12.8 |
| Medication class | |||||||||
| Antidepressants | 5.9 | 5.1 | 6.9 | 5.9 | 4.9 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 7.5 |
| ASH | 9.4 | 8.2 | 10.6 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 12.5 | 15.1 | 13.5 | 16.8 |
| Sleep aids | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 6.0 |
| Thyroid hormones | 5.9 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 7.1 | 8.6 | 7.5 | 9.8 |
| Anticonvulsants | 4.2 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 7.1 | 6.3 | 8.0 |
| Metabolic agents | 11.9 | 10.5 | 13.5 | 20.7 | 19.0 | 22.4 | 28.5 | 26.9 | 30.2 |
Total sample sizes for each medication class range from n = 653 to 3,977. Bold values do not denote significance.
ASH = anxiolytics, sedatives, and hypnotics. Metabolic agents include antihyperlipidemic agents, antidiabetic agents, and peripherally acting antiobesity agents.
Source: NHANES.