nccam.nih.gov052704.htmOpen ↗ Thursday, May 27,
2004 Contact: NCCAM Press Office, 301-496-7790
CDC/NCHS Public Affairs, 301-458-4800
According to a new nationwide government survey,1 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
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
percent 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.
1 Barnes P, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin R. CDC Advance
Data Report
#343. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among
# Adults: United
States, 2002. May 27, 2004.