User prevalence and prescription prevalence and in an ambulatory setting by therapeutic level (prevalence per 1000 persons)
| Class* | Japan (JMDC) | Taiwan (NHIRD) | Australia (PBS) | |||
| User prevalence (%)† | Prescription prevalence (%)‡ | User prevalence (%)† | Prescription prevalence (%)‡ | User prevalence (%)† | Prescription prevalence (%)‡ | |
| Antibiotics | 440 (22) | 882 (25) | 796 (14) | 2010 (8) | 679 (46) | 918 (52) |
| Corticosteroids | 401 (20) | 954 (27) | 701 (13) | 1352 (6) | 348 (23) | 281 (16) |
| Analgesics (including NSAIDs) | 333 (16) | 428 (12) | 933 (17) | 5889 (24) | 96 (6) | 61 (3) |
| Adrenergics | 242 (12) | 405 (11) | 814 (15) | 4666 (19) | 184 (12) | 193 (11) |
| Antihistamines | 261 (13) | 415 (12) | 883 (16) | 6246 (26) | 3 (0) | 1 (0) |
| Mucolytics | 240 (12) | 353 (10) | 756 (14) | 3053 (13) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Anti-infectives (excluding antibiotics and vaccines) | 91 (4) | 60 (2) | 490 (9) | 842 (3) | 72 (5) | 25 (1) |
| Contraceptives | 1 (0) | 1 (0) | 23 (0) | 17 (0) | 34 (2) | 27 (2) |
| Psychotherapeutic agents | 2 (0) | 7 (0) | 23 (0) | 41 (0) | 33 (2) | 86 (5) |
| Central nervous system stimulants | 3 (0) | 5 (0) | 20 (0) | 65 (0) | 25 (2) | 117 (7) |
| Antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents | 4 (0) | 7 (0) | 9 (0) | 15 (0) | 1 (0) | 3 (0) |
| Antiepileptics | 2 (0) | 5 (0) | 15 (0) | 44 (0) | 6 (0) | 41 (2) |
| Anticlotting and antifibrinolytic agents | 3 (0) | 2 (0) | 13 (0) | 10 (0) | 1 (0) | 2 (0) |
| Diuretics | 0 (0) | 1 (0) | 4 (0) | 5 (0) | 2 (0) | 2 (0) |
| Antidiabetic drugs | 0 (0) | 1 (0) | 2 (0) | 8 (0) | 3 (0) | 5 (0) |
| Total | 2023 (100%) | 3526 (100%) | 5482 (100%) | 24 263 (100%) | 1487 (100%) | 1762 (100%) |
*Custom classification, see online supplementary material 1.
†For all 15 different drug classes, the prevalence per 1000 persons was calculated as % of the total country-specific user prevalence (class-specific user prevalence/total user prevalence).
‡For all 15 different drug classes, the prevalence per 1000 persons was calculated as % of the total country-specific prescription prevalence (class-specific prescription prevalence/total prescription prevalence).
JMDC, the Japan Medical Data Center ; NHIRD, Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; PBS, the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme .