More women than men receive prescription drugs

Norwegians spend less antibiotics last year cancer medicinesDrugstore.Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

During 2018, 77% of women were given at least one drug by prescription, while the figure for men were 64% according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

The fresh figures appear in the report “The Norwegian Prescription Register 2014-2018”.

‘’Women use more of all types of drugs than men through most of adult life. This also applies when one omits hormonal contraception’’ said senior adviser, Christian Lie Berg at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (Folkehelseinstituttet) in a press release.

From the age of 15, more women than men use prescription drugs according to the Folkehelseinstituttet.

The proportion of women using prescription drugs is greater than the proportion of men in all age groups except children up to 15 years of age and among the elderly from the age of 75 years old.

‘’Women use more antibiotics than men, especially for urinary tract infections. Far more women than men also get painkillers, anti-anxiety, and depression drugs, and for low-metabolism’’ said Berg.

The prescription register contains information from all the country’s pharmacies about the dispensing of medicines by prescription. In 2018, around 97% of the medicines in the Prescription Register were
handed over to individuals. The register does not contain data on the use of drugs in nursing homes and hospitals.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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