New results show that 55% of adults aged 18 to 79 used at least one prescription medication in the past month, while 36% used two or more, and 24% used three or more. The use of prescribed medication increased with age (taking one medication or more: 38% at ages 18 to 39, 56% at ages 40 to 59, and 81% at ages 60 to 79; taking three medications or more: 7% at ages 18 to 39, 22% at ages 40 to 59, and 52% at ages 60 to 79).
Overall, a higher proportion of females aged 18 to 59 (55%) reported using prescription medications, compared with males (38%), while for 60- to 79-year-olds, there was no significant difference between males (80%) and females (81%).
These results are based on data combined from two cycles of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), 2016 and 2017, and 2018 and 2019.
Along with hospital costs, medications constitute one of the major health spending categories in Canada, as reported by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Spending on prescription medication accounted for 13% of total national health expenditures in 2019.
