More
Than One-Third of U.S. Adults Use Complementary and Alternative Medicine,
According to New Government Survey
For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Contact: NCHS Press Office
(301) 458-4800
CDC Office of Media Relations (404) 639-3286
E-mail: paoquery@cdc.gov
Complementary and
Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults: United States, 2002. Advance Data No. 343. 20 pp. (PHS)
2004-1250 View/download PDF
604 KB
According to a new
nationwide government survey, 36 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years and
over use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM is
defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices,
and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional
medicine. When prayer specifically for health reasons is included in the
definition of CAM, the number of U.S. adults using some form of CAM in the
past year rises to 62 percent.
“These new findings
confirm the extent to which Americans have turned to CAM approaches with the
hope that they would help treat and prevent disease and enhance quality of
life,” said Stephen E. Straus, M.D., Director, National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). “The data not only assists
us in understanding who is using CAM, what is being used, and why, but also
in studying relationships between CAM use and other health characteristics,
such as chronic health conditions, insurance coverage, and health behaviors.”
The survey, administered
to over 31,000 representative U.S. adults, was conducted as part of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2002 National Health
Interview Survey (NHIS). Developed by NCCAM and the CDC’s National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS), the survey included questions on 27 types of
CAM therapies commonly used in the United States. These included 10 types of
provider-based therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, and 17 other
therapies that do not require a provider, such as natural products (herbs or
botanical products), special diets, and megavitamin therapy.
Although there have been
many surveys of CAM use to date, the various surveys included fewer choices
of CAM therapies. In addition, they often surveyed smaller population
samples primarily relying on telephone or mail surveys versus in-person
interviews used for this survey. Thus, the results from the CAM portion of
the NHIS provide the most comprehensive and reliable data to date describing
CAM use by the U.S. adult population.
Overall, the survey
revealed that CAM use was greater among a variety of population groups,
including women; people with higher education; those who had been
hospitalized within the past year; and former smokers, compared to current
smokers or those who had never smoked. In addition, this was the first
survey to yield substantial information on CAM use by minorities. For
example, it found that African American adults were more likely than white
or Asian adults to use CAM when megavitamin therapy and prayer were included
in the definition of CAM.
“We’re continuously
expanding the health information we collect in this country, including
information on the actions people take in dealing with their own health
situations,” said NCHS Director Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D. “Over the years
we’ve concentrated on traditional medical treatment, but this new collection
of CAM data taps into another dimension entirely. What we see is that a
sizable percentage of the public puts their personal health into their own
hands.”
CAM approaches were most
often used to treat back pain or problems, colds, neck pain or problems,
joint pain or stiffness, and anxiety or depression. However, only about 12
percent of adults sought care from a licensed CAM practitioner, suggesting
that most people who use CAM do so without consulting a practitioner.
According to the survey, the 10 most commonly used CAM therapies and the
approximate percentage of U.S. adults using each therapy were:
Prayer
for own health, 43 percent
Prayer
by others for the respondent’s health, 24 percent
Natural
products (such as herbs, other botanicals, and enzymes), 19 percent
Deep
breathing exercises, 12 percent
Participation
in prayer group for own health, 10 percent
Meditation,
8 percent
Chiropractic
care, 8 percent
Yoga,
5 percent
Massage,
5 percent
Diet-based
therapies (such as Atkins, Pritikin, Ornish, and Zone diets), 4 percent.
In addition to gathering
data on the use of CAM practices, the survey also sought information about
why people use CAM. Key findings indicate that:
55
percent of adults said they were most likely to use CAM because they
believed that it would help them when combined with conventional medical
treatments;
50
percent thought CAM would be interesting to try;
26
percent used CAM because a conventional medical professional suggested they
try it; and
13
percent used CAM because they felt that conventional medicine was too
expensive.
Interestingly, the survey
also found that about 28 percent of adults used CAM because they believed
conventional medical treatments would not help them with their health
problem; this is in contrast to previous findings that CAM users are not, in
general, dissatisfied with conventional medicine.
The results of the survey
reveal new patterns of CAM use among various population groups and provide a
rich source of data for future research. Furthermore, the survey results
provide a baseline for future surveys, as it establishes a consistent
definition of CAM that can be used to track trends and prevalence of CAM
use.
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NCCAM, a
component of the National Institutes of Health, HHS, is dedicated to
exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of
rigorous science, training CAM researchers, and disseminating authoritative
information to the public and professionals. For additional information,
call NCCAM’s Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226 or visit NCCAM’s Web site.
NCHS is
a component of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS’
mission is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and
policies to improve the health of the American people. CDC protects
people’s health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and
injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on
critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong
partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.