Table 1.
Estimates of adults in England receiving at least one dispensed prescription by medicine class (April, 2017 to March, 2018)
| Antidepressants | Opioids | Gabapentinoids | Benzodiazepines | Z-drugs | Any | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 7 260 707 (16·6%) | 5 607 684 (12·8%) | 1 460 049 (3·3%) | 1 350 001 (3·1%) | 992 384 (2·3%) | 11 528 376 (26·3%) | |
| Sex* | |||||||
| Male | 2 478 368 (11·6%) | 2 164 396 (10·1%) | 558 380 (2·6%) | 483 782 (2·3%) | 379 292 (1·8%) | 4 322 760 (20·2%) | |
| Female | 4 760 640 (21·3%) | 3 418 223 (15·3%) | 899 948 (4·0%) | 860 125 (3·8%) | 609 566 (2·7%) | 7 151 166 (32·0%) | |
| Age, years† | |||||||
| 18–24 | 511 758 (10·6%) | 162 631 (3·4%) | 25 072 (0·5%) | 50 110 (1·0%) | 40 589 (0·8%) | 646 953 (13·4%) | |
| 25–44 | 2 075 669 (14·1%) | 1 116 657 (7·6%) | 278 529 (1·9%) | 365 056 (2·5%) | 238 908 (1·6%) | 2 909 368 (19·8%) | |
| 45–64 | 2 728 549 (19·2%) | 2 040 143 (14·3%) | 613 062 (4·3%) | 467 255 (3·3%) | 352 176 (2·5%) | 4 106 498 (28·9%) | |
| 65–74 | 982 746 (17·9%) | 1 086 503 (19·8%) | 274 858 (5·0%) | 210 345 (3·8%) | 161 832 (2·9%) | 1 857 853 (33·8%) | |
| ≥75 | 939 918 (20·7%) | 1 174 263 (25·9%) | 266 977 (5·9%) | 250 557 (5·5%) | 195 167 (4·3%) | 1 949 329 (43·0%) | |
| IMD quintile‡ | |||||||
| 1 (least deprived) | 1 554 433 (14·5%) | 1 043 295 (9·7%) | 264 339 (2·5%) | 333 723 (3·1%) | 241 703 (2·3%) | 2 445 311 (22·8%) | |
| 2 | 1 597 629 (15·7%) | 1 152 337 (11·3%) | 296 208 (2·9%) | 318 404 (3·1%) | 223 561 (2·2%) | 2 508 627 (24·6%) | |
| 3 | 1 514 100 (15·7%) | 1 171 137 (12·2%) | 310 907 (3·2%) | 280 303 (2·9%) | 204 732 (2·1%) | 2 398 334 (24·9%) | |
| 4 | 1 435 295 (16·1%) | 1 185 409 (13·3%) | 313 251 (3·5%) | 238 311 (2·7%) | 176 448 (2·0%) | 2 285 631 (25·6%) | |
| 5 (most deprived) | 1 154 028 (16·8%) | 1 047 405 (15·2%) | 274 360 (4·0%) | 177 678 (2·6%) | 145 280 (2·1%) | 1 878 391 (27·3%) | |
Data are n (%); percentages are of the adult population residing in England (restricted by sex or age as applicable), except for IMD quintiles, for which the adult population registered with English general practices was used and grouped by the quintile of the IMD score of the practice. IMD=Indicators of Multiple Deprivation.
*
Analysis excludes cases (≤0·5%) for whom sex was not available.
†
Analysis excludes cases (≤0·5%) for whom no valid age record was available.
‡
Analysis excludes cases (≤0·1%) for whom no IMD score was available.