UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA — It’s hard to argue that Americans don’t love their pills. Recent estimates tell us that over 60 percent of U.S. adults take prescription drugs, and over 45 percent have taken a prescribed drug over the prior 30 days. Now, worrying new predictive research from Penn State reports young Americans born in 2019 can expect to spend a significant portion of their lives medicated.

In fact, study authors estimate these young Americans will likely spend more years on prescription meds than being married or receiving an education!

Led by Jessica Ho, associate professor of sociology and demography at Penn State, the research also points to some gender disparities. American males will be on prescription drugs for 48 percent of their lives. That percentage balloons to 60% for females.

“As an American, I’d like to know what medications I’m putting in my body and how long I can expect to take them,” says Prof. Ho, who is also an associate of Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute, in […]