Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002

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Objective

This report presents selected estimates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among U.S. adults, using data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Methods

Data for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population were collected using computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI). This report is based on 31,044 interviews of adults age 18 years and over. Statistics shown in this report were age adjusted to the year 2000 U.S. standard population.

Results

Sixty-two percent of adults used some form of CAM therapy during the past 12 months when the definition of CAM therapy included prayer specifically for health reasons. When prayer specifically for health reasons was excluded from the definition, 36% of adults used some form of CAM therapy during the past 12 months. The 10 most commonly used CAM therapies during the past 12 months were use of prayer specifically for one’s own health (43.0%), prayer by others for one’s own health (24.4%), natural products (18.9%), deep breathing exercises (11.6%), participation in prayer group for one’s own health (9.6%), meditation (7.6%), chiropractic care (7.5%), yoga (5.1%), massage (5.0%), and diet-based therapies (3.5%). Use of CAM varies by sex, race, geographic region, health insurance status, use of cigarettes or alcohol, and hospitalization. CAM was most often used to treat back pain or back problems, head or chest colds, neck pain or neck problems, joint pain or stiffness, and anxiety or depression. Adults age 18 years or over who used CAM were more likely to do so because they believed that CAM combined with conventional medical treatments would help (54.9%) and/or they thought it would be interesting to try (50.1%). Most adults who have ever used CAM have used it within the past 12 months, although there is variation by CAM therapy.

Section snippets

Data source

The statistics shown in this report are based on data from the Alternative Health/Complementary and Alternative Medicine supplement, the Sample Adult Core component, and the Family Core component of the 2002 NHIS. 24 The NHIS, one of the major data collection systems of CDC’s NCHS, is a survey of a nationally representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized household population of the United States. Basic health and demographic information were collected on all household members.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine (Table 1)

  • Seventy-five percent of adults age 18 and over have ever used CAM when prayer specifically for health reasons was included in the definition (Figure 1).

  • Sixty-two percent of adults have used CAM during the past 12 months when prayer specifically for health reasons was included in the definition (Figure 1).

  • The 10 CAM therapies most commonly used within the past 12 months measured in terms of the percentage of U.S. adults were prayer specifically for one’s own health (43.0%), prayer by others for

Discussion

Overall, in 2002, about 62% of U.S. adults used some form of CAM in the past 12 months. Subgroup differences were noted in the use of CAM: women were more likely than men to use CAM; black adults were more likely than white adults or Asian adults to use CAM when megavitamin therapy and prayer specifically for health reasons were included in the definition; persons with higher educational attainment were more likely than persons with lower attainment levels to use CAM; and those who had been

Conclusion

The NHIS survey provides the most comprehensive and reliable current data describing CAM use by the U.S. adult population. This report adds to the increasing body of evidence about CAM use in the United States. The descriptive statistics and highlights presented in this report are a foundation for future studies of CAM use as it relates to health and disease among various population subgroups. Ongoing analysis of the NHIS dataset by NCHS and NCCAM staff will further explore the relationship of

Sample design

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a cross-sectional household interview survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Data are collected continuously throughout the year in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. The NHIS uses a multistage, clustered sample design to produce national estimates for a variety of health indicators. Information on basic health topics is collected for all household members by proxy from one family member, if necessary. Additional

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    This article originally appeared as U.S. Department of Health and Human Services DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 2004-1250, Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics No. 343, May 27, 2004.

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