Complementary medicine still popular in USA

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Around one US citizen in three uses complementary and alternative medicine with an increasing emphasis on herbal supplements.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) must now be considered as an important part of health care, according to a new study from Harvard Medical School. The researchers have compared use of CAM in 1997 and 2002. They find that the level of usage has stayed remarkably consistent with one in three Americans being regular users.

There have been some changes though - the largest being a 50 per cent increase in the use of herbal supplements. And more people are practising yoga - up from 3.7 per cent to 5.1 per cent. But there has been a downturn in the use of homeopathy, high dose vitamins, chiropractic and massage. Since these are often paid for by the individual, this may reflect the downturn in the economy. And there has been little change in the use of acupuncture, biofeedback and energy healing.

The researchers say that the public are clearly enthusiastic about CAM. This shows that it's very important to continue research, to ensure that people get the safest and most effective CAM techniques to benefit their health.

Source
Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine January/February 2005