US Leads Chronic Disease Meds Stats

Shocking statistics from the CDC.

Medications might be necessary for health problems.

Still taking something means you are unhealthy. If you have a symptom, any symptom, you have a health problem.

If it’s bad enough to require medication, it’s generally a bigger problem than if you didn’t need medication.

The more medications you take tends to indicate the greater the problem(s).

These are horrible health stats for adult Americans…

• 48.9% of people used at least 1 prescription drug in the past 30 days.
• 23.1% of people used 3 or more prescription drugs in the past 30 days.
• 11.9% of people used 5 or more prescription drugs in the past 30 days.
• 40% of people 65 years old and up take 5 or more prescription drugs.
• This number has tripled since the early 90s.

The most commonly prescribed drugs

1. Pain Relievers
2. Statins
3. Antidepressants

The top drug class are pain relievers.

This is especially concerning to me as a Chiropractor.

The vast majority of the people taking these drugs can be helped to a massive degree by seeing a Chiropractor and making some basic lifestyle changes.

Pain relievers are causing huge problems in people.

Pain relievers do not treat the reason people have pain.

They treat the symptom.

They also carry risk, often serious risks, of side effects.

Too often people who can easily be helped take these medications over years, often taking stronger drugs over time.

This has led to the opioid crisis and has wrecked so many people’s lives and the lives of their families.

The truth is we, as a nation, are becoming very unhealthy.

It’s something we can do something about. It’s something each of us can do something about for both ourselves and our families.

Healthy habits create healthy people.

Unhealthy habits create unhealthy people.

Don’t make the terrible mistake of waiting for a health crisis then hoping a doctor can save you.

Take care of yourself starting right now.

That’s real health care.

Dr. Marc Hagebusch

Stats source CDC 2011-2014

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm