Age- and sex-specific antibiotic prescribing patterns in general practice in England and Wales in 1996.

Using data from 288 general practices in England and Wales contributing data to the General Practice Research Database in 1996, we derived age-sex specific antibiotic prescribing and exposure rates. The overall antibiotic prescribing rate was 607 per 1000 in males and 852 per 1000 in females. In both males and females, prescribing rates were highest in children aged 0-4 years and in the elderly. Prescribing rates in young and middle-aged women were substantially higher than in men of the same age. Overall, 29% of males and 39% of females were prescribed antibiotics in 1996. Children under five years of age were most likely to receive a prescription for an antibiotic. Antibiotic prescribing rates for the 288 practices in the study varied nearly five-fold, from 333 to 1616 per 1000. Reducing this variation and overall antibiotic prescribing rates will be major challenges for general practitioners.