Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Oct 1;20(1):483.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-02895-4.

Characteristics of U.S. adults taking prescription antipsychotic medications, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2018

Jeff A Dennis  1 , Lisaann S Gittner  2 , J Drew Payne  3 , Kenneth Nugent  3
Affiliations

Characteristics of U.S. adults taking prescription antipsychotic medications, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2018

Jeff A Dennis et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Global 12-month psychosis prevalence is estimated at roughly 0.4%, although prevalence of antipsychotic use in the U.S. is estimated at roughly 1.7%. Antipsychotics are frequently prescribed for off label uses, but have also been shown to carry risk factors for certain comorbid conditions and with other prescription medications. The study aims to describe the socio-demographic and health characteristics of U.S. adults taking prescription antipsychotic medications, and to better understand the association of antipsychotic medications and comorbid chronic diseases.

Methods: The study pools 2013-2018 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of non-institutionalized U.S. residents (n = 17,691). Survey staff record prescription medications taken within the past 30 days for each respondent, from which typical and atypical antipsychotic medications were identified.

Results: Prevalence of antipsychotic use among U.S. adults was 1.6% (n = 320). Over 90% of individuals taking antipsychotics reported having health insurance and a usual place for care, significantly more than their counterparts not taking antipsychotics. Further, those taking antipsychotics reported higher prevalence of comorbid chronic diseases and took an average of 2.3 prescription medications more than individuals not taking antipsychotics. Individuals taking antipsychotics were more likely to sleep 9 or more hours per night, be a current smoker, and have a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2.

Conclusions: U.S. adults who take antipsychotic medications report more consistent health care access and higher prevalence of comorbid chronic diseases compared to those not taking antipsychotics. The higher comorbidity prevalence and number of total prescriptions highlight the need for careful assessment and monitoring of existing comorbidities and potential drug-drug interactions among adults taking antipsychotics in the U.S.

Keywords: Antipsychotic medication prevalence; Antipsychotic medications; Chronic disease comorbidities; Epidemiology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Schizophrenia. [Internet] May 2018. Cited May 16, 2020. Available from: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/schizophrenia.shtml.
    1. Moreno-Küstner B, Martin C, Pastor L. Prevalence of psychotic disorders and its association with methodological issues. A systematic review and meta-analyses. PloS One. 2018;13(4):1–25. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195687. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shim RS, Baltrus P, Ye J, Rust G. Prevalence, treatment, and control of depressive symptoms in the United States: results from the National Health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES), 2005–2008. J Am Board Fam Med. 2011;24(1):33–38. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2011.01.100121. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goodell S, Druss BG, Walker ER, Mat M. Mental disorders and medical comorbidity. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2011;2.
    1. de Leon J. Why do you keep telling me that drug-drug interactions are important in psychopharmacology when I do not see them in my clinical practice?: my failure to convince clinicians. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2019;39(1):1–4. doi: 10.1097/JCP.0000000000000924. - DOI - PubMed

Substances