Is Medicine Making Us Sicker? (Part 1 of 4)

This blog post, written by guest author Al von der Linden, is part one of a four-part series. Sign up for our newsletter to receive each installment by email as it is released. 

Americans are taking more medicine than ever and are sicker than ever. Sure, some pharmaceutical drugs are helpful, but there is mounting evidence that many of the medications we are taking may be making us sicker.

Money Is Not the Cure

Americans spend a lot more of our hard-earned dollars on health care than ever before and nearly twice as much as the other 10 high-income countries. We’re now spending over $4 trillion per year – more than 17% of our GDP. Back in the 1960’s we only spent 4% of our GDP. Some say it’s because we’ve made tremendous medical advances and are much healthier now. Do you buy that?

Well, you shouldn’t. The U.S. has the worst health outcomes of the 11 richest countries. We have the lowest life expectancy (78.8 years vs. 80.7 – 83.9 for other countries), and the highest infant mortality rate (5.8 deaths per 1000 live births vs. 3.6 per 1000 for other countries).

Our nation’s children have never been sicker. Here are just a few statistics that should make all of us feel sick:

Physical health:

• 60% of children have a chronic health condition – up from 6% in the 1960’s
• 1 in 5 children suffer from obesity (CDC: Childhood Obesity Facts)
• 1 in 12 children has asthma (CDC: Asthma in Children)
• 1 in 13 children has a food allergy (CDC: Food Allergies)
• 1 in 285 children is diagnosed with cancer by age 20 (American Childhood Cancer Organization: Childhood Cancer Statistics)

Mental health:

• 1 in 6 children ages 2–8 suffer from a developmental disorder (CDC: Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health)
• 15 percent of all public-school students receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
• 1 in 9 children suffer from ADHD (CDC: Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health)
• 1 in 36 children has autism. The autism rate was 4.5 in 10,000 in the 1960s. (CDC: Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network)
• 1 in 10 children suffer from anxiety (CDC: Data and Statistics on Children’s Mental Health)
• 4 in 10 teens suffer from depression (CDC: Adolescent Mental Health)

We’ve recently become a nation of chronic and mental health conditions, which is where about 90% of U.S. healthcare costs are directed.

Why are Americans so much sicker than other countries when we spend a lot more money on health care than other countries? What are we doing wrong, and why aren’t more people talking about it?

Popping More Pills

A 2018 study found that Americans spend a higher percentage (15%) of our health care budget on pharmaceutical drugs than any other rich country. So, it’s no surprise that more than half of the U.S. population regularly takes a prescription medication (an average of 4), according to a recent nationally representative Consumer Reports survey of 1,947 adults. The total number of prescriptions filled by all Americans, including adults and children, has increased by 85% over 2 decades, while the total U.S. population has increased by only 21%.

We’re swallowing a lot more pills each day than we did just 20 years ago. According to the CDC, the percentage of Americans taking more than 5 prescription medications has nearly tripled in that time. Today, 42% of adults over the age of 65 take 5 or more prescription medications (that percentage jumps to 66% when over-the-counter meds are included).

Nearly 20% of Americans take more than 10 medications. Doctors say it is not uncommon to encounter patients taking more than 20 drugs to treat various disorders.

Doctors are partially responsible for this increase in prescriptions because they are recommending them. However, patients can share responsibility for part of this increase because many of us find it easier to take another pill than to live a healthier lifestyle.

Medicating Normal Life

One contributing factor to the increase in medication usage is the recent trend to prescribe drugs for conditions that were historically treated with counseling or psychological therapy. Mental or emotional health issues, and even normal life experiences, are often being attributed to a chemical imbalance requiring medication. Yet, there is no scientific basis for this claim and many psychiatrists are now treating the aftermath of normal life experiences with medication.

Consequently, the volume of prescribed antidepressants doubled between 1996 and 2005 and continues to rise. Today over 10% of Americans take an antidepressant, with nearly 25% of women taking them.

The CDC reports a five-fold increase in the number of children on psychostimulants from 1988-1994 to 2007-2010.

University of Michigan researchers reported that the percentage of people over 65 taking at least 3 psychiatric drugs more than doubled in 9 years beginning in 2004. Nearly half of them had no mental health diagnosis. Roughly 13% of teens and one-third of all adults are taking psychiatric drugs.

Americans have also been conditioned to avoid pain, and we expect our doctor to eliminate any level of pain. Although the U.S. represents about 5% of the world’s population, we take in 99% of the world’s hydrocodone, 80% of the world’s oxycodone and 65% of the hydromorphone.

Americans take more medicine than ever before, and more than other countries. Shouldn’t we be healthier than we’ve ever been, and healthier than other countries? Why are Americans sicker than ever, and so much sicker than other countries?

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