Soaring rates of prescription drug use amongst young people are being driven up by chronic conditions including diabetes, according to Medco Health Solutions research. Prescriptions drug use amongst young people in America was found to be four times higher than in the overall population.
Over one in four insured children in the USA took at least one prescription medicine to treat chronic illness such as cancer or diabetes . This is leading to increased drug sales and higher healthcare costs, Medco warned.
Dr. Robert Epstei, the chief medical officer at Medco, reportedly said: “Looking at children was the real shocker for us. What’s surprising is the type of drugs these kids are taking. All these adult drugs are popping up in children, which is really disturbing. The obesity problem is contributing not just to diabetes but to a lot of other problems.”
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