Abstract

Background

Prescription medications are used throughout the life course, including among children and youth. Prescribing practices may be influenced by emerging medical conditions, the availability of new medications, changing clinical practices, and evolving knowledge of the safety and effectiveness of medications. The Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) provides national-level information to help monitor the use of prescribed medications in the population.

Data and methods

Based on data from the CHMS (2012 to 2017), this article describes prescription medication use in the past month among those aged 3 to 19 years. Information on up to 45 prescription medications was recorded and classified according to Health Canada’s Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification. Frequencies and bivariate analyses examined medication use by sociodemographic and health-related factors. The most common medication classes were identified for each age group.

Results

An estimated 23% of Canadian children and youth (1.5 million) had used at least one prescription medication in the past month and 9% had used two or more prescription medications.

Prescription medication use was more common among those who reported lower levels of general and mental health, as well as among those with asthma (51%), a mood disorder (71%), attention deficit disorder (60%) or a learning disability (43%). Medications for the respiratory and nervous systems were among those most commonly prescribed. Of youth aged 14 years or older, 4% had misused prescription medications for non-medicinal purposes, for the experience, for the feeling they cause or to get high.

Interpretation

Prescription medication use among children and youth is common in Canada. It is associated with lower levels of self-reported health and the presence of chronic conditions. The estimates provide a benchmark to help monitor prescription drug use in Canada.

Keywords

drugs, pharmaceuticals, prevalence, Canadian Health Measures Survey

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202100300001-eng

Findings

In 2002, the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada reported on the growing importance and costs of drugs in the Canadian health care system. At that time, prescribed drug expenditures totalled $14.8 billion and represented 12.8% of total health spending. By 2019, prescribed drug expenditures were projected to be more than double ($34.3 billion), accounting for 13.0% of health care spending in Canada and surpassed only by those associated with hospitals (26.6%) and physicians (15.1%). Prescribed drugs were projected to make up 85.1% of all drug expenditures, with non-prescribed drugs comprising the remaining 14.9%. An international comparison revealed that Canada’s per capita drug expenses were high among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. For example, in 2016, drug expenses averaged $1,043 per person in Canada, placing it in third place behind the United States ($1,470) and Switzerland ($1,353). [Full article]

Authors

Jennifer Servais (Jennifer.Servais@canada.ca) and Julia Gal (Julia.Gal@canada.ca) are with the Centre for Population Health Data, and Pamela L. Ramage-Morin (Pamela.Ramage-Morin@canada.ca) is with the Health Analysis Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Craig M. Hales (chales@cdc.gov) is with the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Maryland, USA.

Disclaimer

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and not necessarily the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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