The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point

Archive for the 'CAM Use' Category

Update: Prevalence of CAM use

Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

Researchers at the University of Sheffield, in the UK, updated previous systematic reviews. (more…)

What’s trending now in visits to homeopaths

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

Two recent studies report marked differences in the use of homeopathy.

First, homeopathy in the US. (more…)

CAM use among people with migraine

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, report patterns and reasons for its use.

It’s not what you think. (more…)

CAM use among older Americans

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

In October 2010 the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) conducted a telephone survey. (more…)

CAM: It might be “natural,” but is it safe?

Sunday, November 13th, 2011

Not always, according to this report from the Royal Children’s Hospital, in Melbourne, Australia. (more…)

CAM use by Americans

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

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. (more…)

Do CAM users feel healthier?

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

CAM is used by about 4 of 10 adults in the US; but little is known about the association between CAM use and health status.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, surveyed people about the relationship between their CAM use and perceived health status. (more…)

Physicians rate acupuncture for pain management

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Researchers at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, collected information from pain physicians and referral physicians who manage the care of patients in pain. (more…)

High use of CAM among people with diabetes

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Would you believe that about 80% of people with diabetes use CAM?

Researchers at the University of California, in San Diego, surveyed patients attending the 6 Taking Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) educational conferences during 2004-2006. (more…)

CAM in the US: Patterns of use

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

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.” (more…)

CAM use by children with asthma

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Today is World Asthma Day.

So, researchers at the Universite de Montreal, in Quebec, surveyed CAM use and factors associated with its use. (more…)

CAM use among cancer patients during drug trials

Sunday, May 8th, 2011

A key outcome of early cancer drug studies is the toxicity of a new experimental drug. The use of CAM in patients with advanced cancer might make it difficult to make this determination.

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, studied the prevalence of CAM use in their patients participating in experimental cancer drug treatment studies. (more…)

CAM use among African American breast cancer survivors

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Researchers in Boston and Washington, DC, determined the prevalence of multivitamins, folic acid, and herbal supplement use. (more…)

CAM use among women with vaginitis

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

Researchers in the US and Israel describe the use of CAM in women with chronic vaginitis and the epidemiologic factors associated with these treatments. (more…)

Use of CAM by people with cancer

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

Researchers at the University of Birmingham, in the UK, investigated the prevalence of herbal medicine use among cancer patients in the West Midlands — a metropolitan county in western central England. (more…)

CAM use among US adolescents

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

Prof. Ernst sees encouraging evidence for some treatments.

But does it matter? (more…)

Use of CAM in patients with head and neck cancer

Sunday, November 7th, 2010

Researchers at the National University of Singapore surveyed the use of CAM in residents of Singapore who had head and neck cancer.

Here are their findings compared to other countries where similar studies have been conducted. (more…)

Prevalence of CAM use in England

Friday, August 13th, 2010

The English commonly combine CAM with prescription drugs.

Let’s compare these findings by Prof. Ernst and colleagues to CAM use in other countries. (more…)