Nearly 70% Of Americans Are On Prescription Drugs

This is a very, very scary statistic (unless you work for Big Pharma, in which case it’s just the start). The Mayo Clinic reports on its study:

Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic researchers say. Antibiotics, antidepressants and painkilling opioids are most commonly prescribed, their study found. Twenty percent of patients are on five or more prescription medications, according to the findings, published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Researchers find the data valuable because it gives insight into prescribing practices. The statistics from the Rochester Epidemiology Project in Olmsted County, Minn. are comparable to those elsewhere in the United States, says study author Jennifer St. Sauver, Ph.D., a member of the Mayo Clinic Population Health Program in the Mayo Clinic Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery.
“Often when people talk about health conditions they’re talking about chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes,” Dr.
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