Prescription drug use among Americans rose 5 percent between 1988 and 2000, according to a recent government report.

The "Health, United States 2004" report was issued Dec. 2. It outlines statistics from government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics.

The report details information about American health care issues ranging from teen pregnancy rates to nursing home costs, but highlighted the prescription drug use trend.

About 35 percent of people between ages 18 and 44 used prescription drugs in 1999-'00, up roughly 4 percent from 1988 to 1994, according to the report.

But whether or not the statistic means there has been a rise in prescription drug use among college students is unclear.

Keli Wollmer, physician assistant at Student Health Service, said that while she has seen a significant rise in the amount of prescriptions given out at Marquette, it is probably due to the winter flu season.

"I don't think prescription drug use is necessarily on the rise," she said. "I think we prescribe what's necessary."

Student Health Service provides a limited pharmacy, which Wollmer said includes medications students frequently need, like antibiotics, penicillin and decongestants.

But it is difficult to track prescription drug use among college students across the country.

Sharon Fisher, communications coordinator with the American College Health Association, said the organization had no data on the number of college students who use prescription drugs.

"It depends on what kind of drug we're talking about," she said. "General prescription drug use would be hard to determine because you would need to talk to individual drug companies."

While experts are not certain about whether prescription drug use among college students is on the rise, some Marquette students say they know many peers who use them.

Courtney Hattan, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, has been taking prescribed drugs for six years. She said she takes the medications to alleviate pain from a high school back injury.

"I'd say a lot of people I know are on one drug or another," Hattan said. "I would definitely be an example of that."

In fact, Mia Kern, who does not take any prescription medication, said she feels she is in the minority.

"Actually most of my close friends are taking some kind of prescription drug," said Kern, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

The report found the percentage of Americans of any age who used at least one prescription drug jumped from 39 percent to 44 percent between 1988 and 1994 and 1999 to 2000. The percent of people taking three or more prescription drugs rose from 12 to 17 percent during the same time period.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 20 2005.