The study, carried out as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 2002 National Health Interview Survey, is thought to be the largest to date of alternative medicine and therapy use in the US. Questions were put to more than 31,000 US adults and used in-person interviews rather than relying on telephone or mail surveys.
The findings underline the importance of non-conventional medicine and will be used by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) to investigate relationships between CAM use and chronic health conditions, said NCCAM director Stephen Straus.
"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 chronic health conditions, insurance coverage, and health behaviors," he said.
The study revealed that 36 per cent of US adults aged 18 years and over use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
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 Sondik.
"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 per cent of adults sought care from a licensed CAM practitioner, suggesting that most people who use CAM do so without consulting a practitioner.
Interestingly, the survey also found that about 28 per cent 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.