Among the most coveted pharmaceutical products, we find analgesics, antibiotics and even anti-inflammatories.
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Let’s look at the glass half full first. 70.2% of Belgians swallow at least one pharmaceutical product per year. This means that they have access to health care and that Social Security works. Furthermore, this figure has not increased for a good ten years. During the pandemic, it even fell before returning to its “normal” level. This is reassuring, because it means that the share of Belgians in good health is not decreasing. But we can also take the glass half empty, and tell ourselves that it is not increasing either.
On the other hand, the type of drugs consumed is changing relatively significantly. Thus, the Belgians certainly take a little less antibiotics and anti-inflammatories than in the past, but they have increased the intake of antacids, anti-flatulent preparations or anti-ulcers. Just like that of analgesics, including paracetamol, and antihistamines, and therefore antidepressants. If we do not only take into account “systemic uses”, we consider that one in four Belgians takes at least one psychotropic drug per year. It’s huge.
The older we get, the more pills we take
Obviously, this overall figure hides different realities. Age significantly influences medication consumption. Those under 17 are logically those who take the least. In 2022 (latest figures available), just over 4 in 10 young people (35.9%) had benefited from a refunded product. This figure rises to 70% for those aged 18-64, and reaches 9 out of 10 people aged 65 and over. Since 2020, a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic, the most notable drop in the use of pharmaceutical substances has been observed among young people, while among those aged 65 and over, this percentage has remained very stable.
Are women sicker than men?
The consumption of reimbursed medicines is greater among women than among men, with a particularly marked gap in the age group of 18 to 64 years. This phenomenon is not specific to our country: it is found in Eurostat data. How to explain this difference? This difference may be partly explained by the use of oral contraceptives and menopausal hormones, although it is also present, to varying degrees, in other categories of pharmaceutical products.
Are we taking too many medications?
These figures are not trivial, and it is quite a paradox. While medications are supposed to heal us, when we take them incorrectly or consume too much, they can harm us. Or even make us seriously ill. The side effects are of course listed in the instructions. And then, doctors and pharmacists often alert patients to the dangers. But this is sometimes insufficient to convince patients to take it easy. This explains why the Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke has communicated on the subject several times. He has even launched awareness campaigns aimed at health professionals so that they can better educate patients.
