Positive Health Online

Abstract

NGUYEN and COLLEAGUES, Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School Osher Research Center, 401 Park Drive, Suite 22-A West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Long@DrNguyen.Org sought to determine the relation between CAM use and self-reported health status and health improvement over time.

Background

Despite the absence of conclusive evidence of effectiveness, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used by 4 of 10 adults in the US; little is known about the association between CAM use and health status.

Methodology

The authors performed a secondary database analysis using data from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey of non-institutionalized US residents conducted by the National Center of Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control. They identified CAM users and compared them to non-users. The authors used multivariable logistic regression to model the health status of respondents and controlled for confounders including socio-demographic, clinical, and behavioral factors. The models were evaluated for discrimination and calibration. Main Measures: The likelihood of respondents to report 'Excellent' current health and 'Better' health than in the prior year.

Results

Based on 23,393 respondents, the authors found 37% of US adults used complementary and alternative medicine and 63% did not use any CAM. Compared to those who did not use CAM, CAM users were more likely to rate their health as 'Excellent' (adjusted-odds ratio (AOR) = 1.14, 95% CI = [1.03,1.26]). Similarly, CAM users were more likely to report their health as 'Better' than in the prior year (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI = [1.49,1.83]). The c-statistics for the two models were 0.755 and 0.616, respectively.

Conclusion

The authors found a significant association between CAM use and self-rated excellent health and health improvement over the prior year. Prospective trials are required to determine whether CAM use is causally related to excellent health status and better health than in the prior year.

References

Nguyen LT, Davis RB, Kaptchuk TJ and Phillips RS. Use of complementary and alternative medicine and self-rated health status: results from a national survey. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 26 (4): 399-404. Apr 2011. Other ID Source: NLM. PMC3055973 [Available on 04/01/12].

Comment

The above data regarding demographic and health outcomes for US adults using Complementary and Alterntive Medicine (CAM) adds to the already considerable body of research which will be enhanced in time with further prospective trials to determine a potential cause and effect relationship between excellent and better health and CAM use.