Data shows young adults using cholesterol and blood pressure drugs more

by William Atkins

Thursday, 01 November 2007

Information released by Medco Health Solutions on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, shows increased use of cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering drugs over a period from 2001 to 2006 for people 20 to 44 years of age.

Although the actual numbers of young adults using cholesterol controlling drugs is still low, the percentage increase over this six year period was quite dramatic. The actual rate rose from 2.5% in 2001 to slightly over 4% in 2006. This rate in 2006 relates to about 4.2 million U.S. citizens in the 20-to-44-year age group using such medicines.

The use of blood pressure drugs increased from 7% to over 8% in 2006, which means about 8.5 million people in the United States in that same age group are using blood pressure medicines.

Both drugs help to reduce the incident of strokes and heart attacks.

Analysis of the data tends to indicate two reasons for this rise in the use of such drugs: (1) higher rates of high blood press and high cholesterol due primarily to higher rates of obesity in the United States and (2) higher use of preventive techniques by doctors in the United States.

When shown the resulting percentages, according to an Associated Press article, Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer at Medco, stated, "It was a surprise to us. Maybe the fact that we're seeing more young people with high cholesterol and blood pressure is indicative of the epidemic of obesity and overweight that we're seeing in this country."

Medco Health Solutions is a leading pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) company based in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, United States.

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