Dr. Rathburn's Blog

As we begin 2012, it's time to face the direction health care is going in the USA and consider the impact it has on our future.  According to the results of a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics in September 2011, the percentage of Americans on prescription drugs in a given month has risen from 39.1% (1988-94) to 47.2% (2005-08).  This is not the percentage of adults who used prescription drugs.......this is EVERYONE!  Applying this growth trend, it is very likely that 2012 will be the first year in our nation's history that more than 50% of the people in our country are on some kind of prescription drug (1).  Looking at the data closely, we find that as of 2008, in a given month:

20.8% of all people are on three or more prescription drugs.

11% of all people are on 5 or more prescription drugs.

25.3% of children and teens (under 18) are on at least one prescription drug.

90.1% of seniors (65 and older) are on at least one prescription drug.

65% of seniors are on 3 or more prescription drugs.

36.7% of seniors are on 5 or more prescription drugs.

Why so many drugs? Luckily the same study breaks the reality down by ailment/drug type and age group:

Children (under 12): asthma (5.7% of children are taking prescription drugs for this), asthma/allergies (3.9% of children), infections (3.7% of children).

Teens (aged 12-19): Attention deficit disorder (6.1%), asthma (5.4%), antidepressants (4.8%).

Adults (age 20-59): antidepressants (10.8%), pain relief (10.1%), cholesterol lowering drugs (8.4%).

Seniors (age 60+ years): cholesterol lowering drugs (44.9%), beta blockers (26.4%), diuretics (19.9%).

Looking specifically at the growing trend of antidepressant use, we see in another study (2) that 10.8% of all Americans ages 12 and older are taking antidepressants.  Currently, 3.7% of our teenagers (age 12-17) are taking them, with 22.8% of their mothers (women age 40-59) setting the example.

Antidepressants are associated with an increased risk of stroke (3).  For children and adolescents, 90% of office visits are "associated with unapproved usage of antidepressant medication." (4)  Finally, a recent study found that expectant mothers who take antidepressants within the year before their babies are born increase the likelihood that the babies will be born with autism.  This study found that the risk of a baby being born autistic more than doubled if the mother took antidepressants within a year of the child's birth.  For those mothers who took antidepressants during their first trimester of pregnancy, their babies were almost 4 times more likely to be born autistic compared to babies of mothers who did not take antidepressants during that time (5). 

Generally speaking (yep, I'm generalizing here), Americans are lazy when it comes to their health.  We eat what we shouldn't, don't exercise, and expect pills to solve our problems, both physical AND mental.  Drugs are NOT the answer to becoming healthy, just read the research mentioned in this blog.

Chiropractic tends to run opposite to the current trend of drug use.  I think it is likely that my profession will be going against the current for several years to come until new research confirms what my profession has been saying for over a century.  Do I think drugs are bad?  Of course not!  Over usage and improper usage of drugs is bad!  Is chiropractic the answer for every disease?  Of course not, although it certainly helps to build an individual's health up and works in perfect conjunction with exercise and proper dietary habits!

 As a side note, we are now Medicaid approved (Kathy and I never saw sooooo much paperwork!).

1. Prescription Drug Use Continues to Increase: U.S. Prescription Drug Data for 2007-2008. NCHS Data Brief No. 42, Sept. 2010.

2. Antidepressant Use in Persons Aged 12 and Over: United States, 2005-2008. NCHS Data Brief No. 76, October 2011.

3. Wu CS, Wang SC, Cheng YC, Gau SS. Association of cerebrovascular events with antidepressant use: a case-crossover study. Am J Psychiatry, 2011 May;168(5):511-21. Epub 2011 Mar 15.

4. Lee E, Teschemaker AR, Johann-Liang R, et al. Off-label prescribing patterns of antidepressants in children and adolescents. Pharmacoepidermiol Drug Saf, 2001 Apr 28.doi: 10.1002/pds.2145.

5. Croen LA, Grether JK, Yoshida CK, Odouli R, Hendrick V. Antipressant use during pregnancy and childhood autism spectrum disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2011;68(11):1104-1112.