Prescription drug users are getting younger and younger. The amount of money spent on prescription drugs to treat kids for such chronic conditions as asthma, high cholesterol and hypertension soared by 10.8 percent last year — more than triple the increase in senior citizens, according to a report on prescription drug spending released yesterday by Medco Health.
The youngsters tracked by Medco generally ranged in age from 10 to 19, but the category examined — known as pediatric spend — included patients as young as infants. "This is the first year we’ve spent a lot of time digging through pediatric spend,’’ said Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer and president of the Medco Research Institute. "It’s troublesome.’
Medco Health, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager, reviewed the amount of money spent by its top 200 clients in 2009 to identify the latest trends. The overall amount of money spent on medicines rose 3.7 percent last year, propelled for a third year in a row by patients using prescription drugs to treat their diabetes.
There were other drivers as well, including a 15.7 percent spike in spending on antiviral drugs following the outbreak of H1N1 and a 23.8 percent increase in spending on treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
The availability of lower-priced generic drugs to treat seizures, heartburn and osteoporosis helped to offset increased spending on pricey specialty medicines for rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer, according to the report, which is issued annually.
But the fastest growing market for drug makers last year was kids.
Prescription drug use among children rose 5 percent while use among senior citizens increased by only 0.2 percent. One in four children covered by a health insurance plan took a prescription drug to treat a chronic condition last year, according to Medco’s report.
Epstein said one of the things that makes the trend particularly disturbing is the types of conditions that are turning youngsters into chronic prescription drug users.
The conditions, which are usually associated with adults, include Type 2 diabetes.
The use of prescription drugs to treat kids for diabetes increased 5.3 percent last year — the largest increase across all age categories, according to Medco. During the past nine years, the number of children using the medicines soared 150 percent. The biggest increase was observed in girls between the ages of 10 and 19.
Obesity is partly to blame.
The epidemic of children whose weight is affecting their health is making conditions such as hypertension and gastroesophageal reflux disease more prevalent among teen-agers and children, according to Medco’s report.
During a nine-year-period beginning in 2001, the use of anti-hypertensive medicines in children grew by 17 percent.
Boys between the ages of 10 and 19 fueled that growth, increasing 29 percent during the nine-year period, Medco said.
Mary Campagnolo, a family physician in Lumberton, said she is seeing more youngsters with weight problems, but she is not treating any of them for diabetes.
"It may be a matter of time,’’ she said.
More youngsters, she said, are taking medicine for asthma. "That’s a good thing,’’ she said. "It’s reduced the incidence of acute asthma attacks and emergency room visits.’’