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More than one American in three uses complimentary or alternative medicine

            According to a government survey of 31,000 people (May, 2004), more than a third of U.S. adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (also called CAM). The survey was conducted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Some groups tend to use CAM more than others. Women, people with higher education, and those who had been hospitalized within the past year tend to useCAM more than the general population. Former smokers tend to use complimentary and alternative medicine than smokers. CAM approaches were most commonly used to treat neck pain, back pain, colds, joint pain or stiffness, and anxiety or depression.

Botanicals, herbs, or enzymes were taken by nearly one-fifth of the respondents. About 12% practiced deep breathing, 5% practiced Yoga and 8% practiced meditation. About 8% of the respondents went to a chiropractor. Diet based therapies were used by 4% of the respondents.

Half of those surveyed thought that CAMwould be interesting to try and more than half said that they were most likely to use it because they believed that it would help them when combined with conventional medical treatments. Many used CAM(13%) because they felt that conventional medicine was too expensive. More than a quarter of the respondents used CAM because they felt that conventional medical treatment would not help them with their health problem.