[Surveillance study about the use actual of prescription drugs from the viewpoint of gender].

In recent years, the concept of gender-specific medicine has become generalized in Japan. We need to understand gender differences in the pattern of use prescription drugs for the appropriate use of medications. We therefore investigated gender differences in the use of prescription drugs based on data form nine hospitals in Japan. The data were extracted from their drug ordering systems in the month from March 1 to 31, 2003. We analyzed the data from the viewpoints of sex and age. The frequency of prescriptions for central nervous system drugs and Kampo medicines was higher for women than for men. The same trend was seen for hormones and vitamins. On the other hand, the frequency of prescriptions for cardiovascular drugs for men was higher than that for women. The same trend was found for unclassified metabolic drugs such as arthrifuges. As a result of detailed analysis by age-group, it is suggested that a correlation exists between the age specificity of prescription drugs and gender differences in disease occurrence. This information had not previously been investigated in Japan. Since the results appear useful, we to improve perform more detailed analyses and accumulate evidence to improve drug therapy.