Thomson W M, Poulton R, Hancox R J, Ryan K M, Al-Kubaisy S
Department of Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Intern Med J. 2007 Aug;37(8):543-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2007.01360.x. Epub 2007 Apr 16.
To date, longitudinal studies of medications have been confined to older adults or clinical samples, with no data from prospective studies of younger adults. The aim of the study was to examine changes in medication usage between ages 26 and 32 in a prospective study of a representative birth cohort.
Medication use during the previous 2 weeks was investigated among 960 individuals at ages 26 and 32.
Nearly two-thirds took at least one medication at each age, with medication prevalence higher among women than among men. Three-quarters of those taking at least one at age 26 were doing so at 32. Over-the-counter medication prevalence increased from 35 to 43% between 26 and 32 years of age. Although the prevalence of prescribed medications decreased (from just under half to just over one-third, and from two-thirds to below half among women), there was no significant difference between the ages once hormonal contraceptives were accounted for. By 32, reduced usage of hormonal contraceptives was apparent, with one-third of age-26 users still taking these at 32. Other categories showing major changes were analgesics (increased), anti-asthma drugs (decreased), antidepressants (increased) and antiulcer drugs (increased). At 32, 82% of those taking analgesics, 85% of those taking nutrient supplements, 71% of those taking antihistamines and 33% of those taking antiulcer drugs had self-prescribed them.
A considerable proportion of the sample used medications by age 32, and there was considerable change between 26 and 32. The changes are likely to have been due to a mix of ageing and period effects.
迄今为止，关于药物使用情况的纵向研究仅限于老年人或临床样本，尚无来自对年轻人进行的前瞻性研究的数据。本研究的目的是在一项具有代表性的出生队列前瞻性研究中，考察26岁至32岁之间药物使用情况的变化。
对960名年龄在26岁和32岁的个体，调查其过去两周内的药物使用情况。
在每个年龄段，近三分之二的人至少服用过一种药物，女性的药物使用率高于男性。在26岁时至少服用一种药物的人中有四分之三在32岁时仍在服用。非处方药的使用率在26岁至32岁之间从35%上升至43%。尽管处方药的使用率有所下降（从略低于一半降至略高于三分之一，女性从三分之二降至一半以下），但在考虑了激素避孕药后，两个年龄段之间没有显著差异。到32岁时，激素避孕药的使用明显减少，26岁时使用这些药物的人中，有三分之一在32岁时仍在服用。其他显示出重大变化的类别包括镇痛药（增加）、抗哮喘药（减少）、抗抑郁药（增加）和抗溃疡药（增加）。在32岁时，服用镇痛药的人中有82%、服用营养补充剂的人中有85%、服用抗组胺药的人中有71%以及服用抗溃疡药的人中有33%是自行开药服用的。
到32岁时，相当一部分样本使用了药物，并且在26岁至32岁之间有相当大的变化。这些变化可能是衰老和时期效应共同作用的结果。
