Pharmaceutical consumption has been increasing for decades, driven by a growing need for drugs to treat age-related and chronic diseases, and by changes in clinical practice. This section examines consumption of four categories of medicines: anti-hypertensives, cholesterol-lowering agents, anti-diabetics, and anti-depressants. These medicines address illnesses for which the prevalence has increased markedly across OECD countries in recent decades.
Consumption of anti-hypertensive drugs in OECD countries increased by 70% on average between 2000 and 2017, nearly quadrupling in Luxembourg and Estonia (Figure 10.6). It remains highest in Germany and Hungary, which report almost five times the levels of consumption seen in Korea and Turkey. These variations probably reflect both differences in the prevalence of hypertension and variations in clinical practice.
Even greater growth was seen in the use of cholesterol-lowering agents, with consumption in OECD countries increasing by a factor of three between 2000 and 2017 (Figure 10.7). The United Kingdom, Denmark and Belgium report the highest levels of consumption per capita in 2017, with a seven-fold variation in consumption levels across the OECD.
The use of anti-diabetic drugs also grew dramatically, almost doubling in OECD over the same period (Figure 10.8). This growth can be explained in part by the rising prevalence of diabetes, which is largely linked to the increasing prevalence of obesity (see indicator on “Overweight and obesity” in Chapter 4), a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. In 2017, consumption of anti-diabetic drugs was highest in Finland and lowest in Latvia, with a two-fold variation.
Consumption of anti-depressant drugs doubled in OECD countries between 2000 and 2017 (Figure 10.9). This may reflect improved recognition of depression, availability of therapies, evolving clinical guidelines and changes in patient and provider attitudes (Mars et al., 2017[1]). However, there was significant variation between countries, with Iceland reporting the highest level of consumption in 2018, at a rate ten times that of Latvia.
