CAM in the US: Patterns of use

I’ve largely ignored these studies in the past, but perhaps it’s worth a second look.

To start, this 1993 study by Dr. David Eisenberg, who is now the director of Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at Harvard University, is considered a landmark in the field of “unconventional medicine.”

First, the details.

• A national survey was conducted to determine the prevalence, costs, and patterns of use of unconventional therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic.
• The survey included 16 commonly used CAMs neither taught widely in US medical schools nor generally available in US hospitals.
• Telephone interviews were conducted with 1539 adults.
• Respondents were asked to report any serious or bothersome medical conditions and details of their use of conventional medical services.

And, the results.

• 34% used at least 1 unconventional therapy in the past year.
• Most commonly used CAM:
  • Exercise: 26%
  • Prayer: 25%
  • Relaxation: 13%
  • Chiropractic: 10%
  • Massage: 7%
  • Imagery: 4%
  • Spiritual healing: 4%
  • Commercial weight loss program: 4%
  • Lifestyle diets (eg, macrobiotics): 4%
  • Herbal medicine: 3%
  • Megavitamin therapy: 2%
  • Self-help: 2%
  • Energy: 1%
  • Biofeedback: 1%
  • Hypnosis: 1%
  • Homeopathy: 1%
  • Acupuncture: less than 1%
  • Folk remedies: less than 1%

• A third of CAM users saw CAM providers an average of 19 times during the preceding year.
• The average charge per visit: $28.
• Highest use was among nonblack persons from 25 to 49 years old with more education and higher incomes.
• Most used unconventional therapy for chronic medical conditions.
• 72% of the respondents who used unconventional therapy did not inform their medical doctor.
• Extrapolation to the US. population:
  • 425 million visits to CAM providers — exceeding the number of visits to all US primary care physicians (388 million).
  • Expenditures associated with CAM: $14 billion, three quarters ($10 billion) paid out of pocket.
  • Comparable to  $13 billion spent out of pocket annually for all hospitalizations in the US.

The bottom line?

2 decades ago, a third of Americans used CAM.

As new studies are published, we’ll see how more recent data compare.

5/24/10 18:11 JR