Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Alternative medicine use holds steady at more than 1 in 3 Americans
Approximately 38% of adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), a level that has held steady for the past five years, according to the National Institutes of Health Survey (NHIS).
Overall CAM use has remained relatively steady, from 36% in 2002 to 38% in 2007. However, use of specific therapies has varied.
The most commonly used by adults were:
--nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products (17.7%), most commonly fish oil/omega 3/DHA, glucosamine, echinacea, flaxseed and ginseng,
--deep breathing (12.7%),
--meditation (9.4%),
--chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (8.6%),
--massage (8.3%), and
--yoga (6.1%).
Adults used CAM most often to treat pain (back, neck or joint), arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions. Use for head or chest colds decreased from 9.5% in 2002 to 2.0% in 2007.
Americans' use of CAM for health care reinforces the need for rigorous research to study the safety and effectiveness of these therapies, said National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Director Josephine P. Briggs, MD. The data also point out the need for patients and health care providers to openly discuss CAM use to ensure safe and coordinated care.
As reported by ACP Internist in November 2007, "The challenge for internists is to keep up with the latest evidence so they are not caught off guard when patients announce they have been taking St. John's wort for depression, for example, or treating their low back pain with acupuncture." The issue also outlined easy ways for internists to open the lines of communication.
Click on More below for complete results and charts.
Survey results are based on data from more than 23,300 interviews with American adults and more than 9,400 interviews with adults on behalf a child in their household.
Consistent with results from the 2002 data, in 2007 CAM use among adults was greater among:
--women (42.8%, compared to men 33.5%)
--those aged 30-69 (30-39 years: 39.6%, 40-49 years: 40.1%, 50-59 years: 44.1%, 60-69 years: 41.0%)
--those with higher levels of education (masters, doctorate or professional: 55.4%)
--those who were not poor (poor: 28.9%, near poor: 30.9%, not poor: 43.3%)
--those living in the West (44.6%)
--those who have quit smoking (48.1%)
NCCAM also tracked children for the first time. Overall, CAM use among children is nearly 12%, or about 1 in 9 children. Children are five times more likely to use CAM if a parent or other relative uses CAM. CAM therapies were used most often for back or neck pain, head or chest colds, anxiety or stress, other musculoskeletal problems, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD).
Labels: alternative medicine
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
1:54 PM
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Members of the American College of Physicians contribute posts from their own sites to ACP Internist and ACP Hospitalist. Contributors include:
Albert Fuchs, MD
Albert Fuchs, MD, FACP,
graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles School of
Medicine, where he also did his internal medicine training.
Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Fuchs
spent three years as a full-time faculty member at UCLA School of
Medicine before opening his private practice in Beverly Hills in
2000.
David Katz, MD
David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACP, is an internationally renowned
authority on nutrition, weight management, and the prevention of
chronic disease, and an internationally recognized leader in
integrative medicine and patient-centered care.
DrDialogue
Juliet K. Mavromatis, MD, FACP, provides a conversation about
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Dr. Mintz' Blog
Matthew Mintz, MD, FACP, has practiced internal medicine for more
than a decade and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at an
academic medical center on the East Coast. His time is split
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Everything Health
Toni Brayer, MD, FACP, blogs about the rapid changes in science,
medicine, health and healing in the 21st century.
FutureDocs
Vineet Arora, MD, FACP, is Associate Program Director for the
Internal Medicine Residency and Assistant Dean of Scholarship &
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Glass
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John H. Schumann, MD, FACP, provides transparency on the workings
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Ryan Madanick, MD, ACP Member, is a gastroenterologist at the
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ACP Member Mike Aref, MD, PhD, ACP Member, is an academic
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Richard Just, MD, ACP Member, has 36 years in clinical practice of hematology and medical oncology. His blog is a joint publication with Gregg Masters, MPH.
KevinMD
Kevin Pho, MD, ACP Member, offers one of the Web's definitive sites
for influential health commentary.
MD
Whistleblower
Michael Kirsch, MD, FACP, addresses the joys and challenges of
medical practice, including controversies in the doctor-patient
relationship, medical ethics and measuring medical quality. When
he's not writing, he's performing colonoscopies.
Medical
Lessons
Elaine Schattner, MD, ACP Member, shares her ideas on education,
ethics in medicine, health care news and culture. Her views on
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patients, as a researcher in cancer immunology, and as a patient
who's had breast cancer.
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David M. Sack, MD, FACP, practices general gastroenterology at a
small community hospital in Connecticut. His blog is a series of
musings on medicine, medical care, the health care system and
medical ethics, in no particular order.
Reflections
of a Grady Doctor
Kimberly Manning, MD, FACP, reflects on the personal side of being
a doctor in a community hospital in Atlanta.
Technology in (Medical) Education
Neil Mehta, MBBS, MS, FACP, is interested in use of technology in
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White Coat Underground
Peter A. Lipson, MD, ACP Member, is a practicing internist and
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ACP Internist and ACP Hospitalist also contribute to and draw upon content from Get Better Health, a network created by Val Jones, MD, to support and promote health care professional bloggers, provide insightful and trustworthy health commentary, and help to inform health policy makers about the clinician's point of view on health care reform, science, research and patient care.
Other blogs of note:
American
Journal of Medicine
Also known as the Green Journal, the American Journal of Medicine
publishes original clinical articles of interest to physicians in
internal medicine and its subspecialities, both in academia and
community-based practice.
Clinical Correlations
A collaborative medical blog started by Neil Shapiro, MD, ACP
Member, associate program director at New York University Medical
Center's internal medicine residency program. Faculty, residents
and students contribute case studies, mystery quizzes, news,
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db's Medical
Rants
Robert M. Centor, MD, FACP, contributes short essays contemplating
medicine and the health care system.
Interact
MD
Michael Benjamin, MD, ACP member, doesn't accept industry money so
he can create an independent, clinician-reviewed space on the
Internet for physicians to report and comment on the medical news
of the day.
PLoS
Blog
The Public Library of Science's open access materials include a
blog.
White Coat Rants
One of the most popular anonymous blogs written by an emergency
room physician.
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