Prescribing by level of deprivation in Wales: an investigation of selected medicine groups

Background: Prescribing is the most common intervention made by healthcare professionals. Our study aimed to compare prescribing between general practitioner (GP) practices with the highest and lowest levels of deprivation.

Methods: The deprivation level of each GP practice was determined using data from the income domain of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation and individual patient postcodes. We compared prescribing data between the highest and lowest deprivation quintiles for selected groups of medicines. The prescribing measures used were selected as the most appropriate to the specific medicine group being considered. Data were analysed across the period of April 2018-March 2023.

Results: For the medicine groups of statins, hypnotics and anxiolytics, and antidepressants, there was a statistically significantly higher level of prescribing in the highest deprivation quintile. For anticoagulants, there was no significant difference in prescribing between the different quintiles. For hormone replacement therapy, there was a significantly higher level of prescribing in the quintile of lowest deprivation.

Conclusion: Our study shows variation in the prescribing of different medicine groups between the highest and lowest deprivation quintiles in Wales. Further investigation into this variation is required.