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CAM Use

CAM use by Americans

JR

Researchers at Harvard Medical School, in Boston conducted a review of 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.

First, the details.

  • The researcher reviewed data from 23,393 respondents to the survey.
  • CAM users were compared to non-users.
  • The findings were adjusted for confounding factors such as socio-demographic, clinical, and behavioral factors.

And, the results.

  • 37% of US adults used CAM.
  • Compared to those who did not use CAM, CAM users were more likely to rate their health as ‘Excellent’.
  • Similarly, CAM users were more likely to report their health as ‘Better’ than in the prior year.

The bottom line?

The authors concluded, “We found a significant association between CAM use and self-rated excellent health and health improvement over the prior year.”

Based on these findings, it should not be concluded that there is a cause and effect relationship between CAM use and physical health.

11/24/10 22:37 JR

Hi, I’m JR

John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

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