There was an overall decrease in estimates of prescription medication use among US children and adolescents in use of any medication from 1999-2014; however, the prevalence of asthma medication, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication, and contraceptive use increased among certain age groups. This according to a recent study of US children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years from the 1999-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) that evaluated trends in prescription medication use. Outcomes and measures included the use of any prescription medications or ≥2 prescription medications taken in the past 30 days, use of medications by therapeutic class, and trends in medication use across 4-year periods from 1999-2002 to 2011-2014. Researchers found:

• 38,277 children and adolescents (mean age 10 years, 49% girls) were included.
• Overall, use of any prescription medication in the past 30 days decreased from 24.6% in 1999-2002 to 21.9% in 2011-2014.
• However, the prevalence of use of asthma medications, ADHD medications, proton pump inhibitors, and contraceptives increased among certain age groups.
• Use of antibiotics, antihistamines, and upper respiratory combinations medications decreased.