Judging from the types of medications we’re taking, it’s reasonable to conclude that we are a nation of hyperlipidemic, depressed, wheezing, tumor-ridden psychotics with major metabolic imbalances and a lot of pain.

The Use of Medicines in the United States: Review of 2010, a report published by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, chronicles the nation’s drug consumption, and suggests that as a whole, the country is in baaaad shape!

The report indicates that Americans spent $307 billion on prescriptions last year, up 2.3% from the previous year, despite the fact that physician visits declined by 4.2%.Translated into per capita terms, that’s $898 per US adult per year, up $6 from 2009. While the numbers are still monumental, the report states that total spending on drugs rose at an historically low rate of merely 2.3% (compared to a growth of 5.1% in 2009).

However, the disturbing portrait in the mirror emerges when you look at what types of drugs we’re consuming most.

The Top Ten drug categories in terms of dollars spent were: Oncologics ($22.3 B); Drugs for Respiratory Conditions ($19.3 B); Lipid Regulators ($18.8 B); Antidiabetics ($16.9 B); Antipsychotics ($16.1 B); Anti-Ulcer Drugs ($11.9 B); Antidepressants $11.6 B); Drugs for Autoimmune Diseases ($10.6 B); HIV Antivirals ($9.2 B) ; and Angiotensin II Inhibitors ($8.7 B).

In terms of total volume of prescriptions, Lipid Regulators topped the list (255.4 M prescriptions dispensed), followed closely by antidepressants (253.6 M) and Narcotics 244.3 M). The Top Three bestselling name brand drugs were: Lipitor ($7.2 B), Nexium ($6.3 B), and Plavix (6.1 B).

Among the drug categories showing the greatest growth rate in the last year were drugs for ADHD (14.5% growth) antidiabetic drugs (12.5%), HIV drugs (12.2%),  and, somewhat surprisingly, antipsychotics (10%). The report noted a 2.1% increase in total prescriptions for antipsychotics.

IMS Institute is an independent research and consulting company focused on healthcare analytics.