Online data shows people are MOST concerned about THESE prescription medicines side effects

For many of us, our health is undoubtedly very important to us and when we feel something is not quite right with our body, we tend to consult a general practitioner (GP) or specialist doctor – who in turn may prescribe specific medicine(s) to help deal with the health problem(s) in hand.

Interested in mental and physical wellbeing, Drughelpline.org utilised online analytics tool Ahrefs to establish, from the most commonly prescribed medicines, the 20 prescription medicines people are most concerned about the side effects of.

The Results: 

• People are most concerned about the side effects of gabapentin as demonstrated by an average 242,300 global online searches per month for ‘gabapentin side effects’ – the equivalent of 8,077 worldwide searches a day!
• In second position is metformin, typically used by diabetic patients, there is an average 188,100 global monthly online searches from those keen to discover the drugs possible side effects
• Sertraline (152,000) and amlodipine (148,300) are among the other drugs which receive more than 140,000 worldwide searches each month from individuals keen to research and find out the potential side effects of the respective two prescription medicines
• Rounding off the top 20 is Ibuprofen, with an average 53,400 global online searches a month from those curious about any potential side effects that may occur from taking the painkiller

Methodology:

1. To establish which are the most commonly prescribed medicines, Drughelpline.org used this source, which clearly states the names of the 100 most-prescribed medicines.
2. Once the list of the 100 most-prescribed medicines was established, Drughelpline.org inserted each of the 100 prescription medicines names into the Ahrefs database alongside the keyword ‘side effects’ to clearly see how many times per month on average people are searching online for the side effects of each of the identified prescription medicines.
3. Once stage two analysis was done for each of the 100 prescription medicines, the medicines were ranked from highest to lowest depending on the average monthly global online search volume figures for people specifically checking online for the potential side effects for each of them.
4. The final results table presented in the research showcases the top 20 prescription medicines people are most concerned about the side effects of, based on online search volume results.
5. All online search volumes in the research represent global monthly online searches and all online search volume figures in the research are averages.
6. Drughelpline.org did account for people searching for the same thing online/having the same search intent but in different ways i.e. ‘Ibuprofen side effects’ and ‘side effects of ibuprofen’.
7. NOTE: To provide some context as to what each of the medicines in the top 20 is typically prescribed for, Drughelpline.org in the data/results table did create a column which assigns them into one or more of the following categories and they include/mean:

• Analgesics (i.e. painkillers) = Help relieve pain.
• Anticonvulsants = Used for the treatment of epileptic and non-epileptic seizures.
• Antihyperglycemics = Used for the treatment of raised blood sugars.
• Antidepressants = Used for the treatment of depressive disorders.
• Antihypertensives = Used to treat hypertension.
• Statins = Used to lower the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood.
• Proton Pump Inhibitors = Used to reduce gastric acid production.
• Antibiotics = Used to help the body fight infection.
• Analgesia = Used for the treatment for chronic pain.
• Supplements = Medications that generally include hormones, vitamins, minerals, fibre, fatty acids or amino acids and other substances.

8. Please note some of the prescription medicines in the top 20 do fall into more than one category because they can be prescribed to help with multiple health purposes/scenarios/problems.