# Prevalence of Over-the-Counter and Prescription Medication Use in the US

## TL;DR

A survey of 21,000 US adults found that over 60% used OTC or prescription medications in the past week, with similar use rates for both types.

## Contribution

This study provides updated prevalence estimates of OTC and prescription medication use in the US adult population.

## Key findings

- 62.3% of US adults reported using OTC or prescription medications in the past 7 days.
- Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin were the most commonly used OTC medications.
- Use of medications increased with age and was higher among females than males.

## Abstract

What is the current prevalence of over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medication use in the US?

In this survey study of 21 000 US adults, 62.3% reported past-7-day use of any OTC or prescription medication. Past-7-day prevalence of any OTC medication use (46.0%) was similar to that of any prescription medication use (46.3%) and illustrated a similar pattern of increased use with age among both male and female individuals.

The high prevalence of OTC and prescription medication use highlights the reliance on these products, aids in regulatory decision-making, contributes to pharmacoeconomic evaluations, and informs measures of benefits and risks.

This survey study estimates the current prevalence of over-the-counter and prescription medication use in the US adult population.

In the US, reliance on over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications has important public health implications. Understanding the prevalence of medication use, overall and by specific medication, aids in regulatory decision-making and pharmacoeconomic evaluations and informs measures of benefits and risks.

To estimate the current prevalence of OTC and prescription medication use in the US adult population.

This survey study analyzed data collected via a population-based, online survey of the US adult population (June 2023 to April 2024). Participants were volunteer online panelists aged 18 years and older.

Use of any OTC or prescription medication.

The primary outcome was prevalence of OTC and prescription medication use (overall and by specific medication), stratified by sex and age. Prevalence estimates were generated by calculating the proportion of the population reporting the key outcomes.

Of the 21 000 participants, 11 171 (53.2%) were female, and the mean (SD) age was 47.9 (17.5) years. Past-7-day prevalence of OTC or prescription medication use was 62.3% (13 073 individuals). The use of 5 or more medications was reported by 3425 participants (16.3%), and 690 (3.3%) reported taking 10 or more medications. Although use was higher among female individuals (7442 participants [66.6%]) than among male individuals (5631 participants [57.3%]), the patterns of increasing use and increasing number of medications with age were similar. The past-7-day prevalence of OTC medication use (9657 participants [46.0%]) was similar to that of prescription medications (9719 participants [46.3%]). Acetaminophen (6184 participants [29.4%]), ibuprofen (4693 participants [22.3%]), and aspirin (3323 participants [15.8%]) were the most reported medications used in the past 7 days. Six of the 10 most prevalent medications reported were available OTC. The most reported prescription medications were atorvastatin (1342 participants [6.4%]), lisinopril (1163 participants [5.5%]), levothyroxine (1086 participants [5.2%]), and amlodipine (965 participants [4.6%]).

In this 2023 to 2024 study, nearly 2 of 3 US adults reported medication use in the past 7 days. Past-7-day prevalence of OTC and prescription medication use was similar, demonstrating the reliance on these therapies and highlighting the importance of accessibility. Medication-specific prevalence allows for a better understanding of actual use and the ability to estimate potential benefits and risks associated with medication access or regulatory changes. Continued monitoring is necessary to measure the benefits and risks of regulatory decisions or other market changes that may affect medication access or use.