Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on May 10, 2007
Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdm013
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National trends in the use and costs of anti-obesity medications in England 1998–2005
Janakan Srishanmuganathan, Foundation year 2 doctor1
Hitesh Patel, Foundation year 2 doctor2
Josip Car, Clinical Lecturer in Primary Care3,
Azeem Majeed, Professor of Primary Care3
1 St Marys Hospital, London W2 1NY, UK
2 Charing Cross Hospital, London W6 8RF, UK
3 Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine, Imperial College, London W6 8RP, UK
Address correspondence to Josip Car, E-mail: josip.car{at}imperial.ac.uk
Background To report the trends in the use and costs of anti-obesity medications in England from 1998 to 2005.
Methods We analysed data on all community anti-obesity drug prescriptions in England collated by the prescription cost analysis system.
Results Between 1998 and 2005, Orlistat prescriptions rose 36-fold from 17,880 to 646,700 and total cost increased by over 35-fold. Sibutramine prescriptions rose from 2001 to 2005 from 53,393 to 227,000, a 4-fold increase. Although prescriptions of Orlistat and Sibutramine have increased substantially since they were first introduced, the rate of growth decreased substantially in recent years until 2005, when a significant increase in the number and cost of prescriptions for orlistat occurred yet again.
Conclusions We found a large increase in the use and costs of anti-obesity prescriptions, consistent with the increased awareness of obesity amongst health care professionals and the public. Despite this large increase, there are still no head-to-head studies at a national level that directly compare all anti-obesity medication in use in the UK.