Products - Data Briefs - Number 369 - June 2020

Products - Data Briefs - Number 369 - June 2020

Around 1 in 10 adults has a painkiller prescription

Nearly 11% of adults reported having a recent prescription for a pain medicine, according to new CDC data. Here's more from the survey, which looked at 2015-2018 data and asked people about prescriptions in the month prior to being surveyed: 

• Overall trends: 10.7% adults said they had at least one prescription for a pain medication in the 30 days before being surveyed. Around 6% said they used prescription opioids. 
• Trends by age: Prescription pain medication use increased with age. Around 5% of those ages 20-39 had a prescription, compared to 15% aged 60 and over. 
• Other trends: Prescription pain medication use was higher among women than among men. White adults were most likely to have a prescription, while Asian adults were least likely to have one.