2oo7 National CAM Use Study

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products such as herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic, and acupuncture that are not generally considered to be part of conventional medicine. The CAM component of this most recent National Health Interview Survey was developed by the NCCAM (the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine-  http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camstats/costs ). The last survey of this type was done in 2002. This study data was released July 31. The study was conducted in 2007.

In analyzing the costs, it was found that CAM accounts for approximately 1.5% of total health care expenditures in this country and 11.2% of total out-of-pocket expenditures for health care. Americans spent 33.9 billion dollars on CAM over the past 12 months which accounts for slightly more than one-tenth of the out-of-pocket health care dollars spent. This represents an equivalent of one quarter of the total out-of-pocket spending on physician visits. The survey showed about 35 cents of each alternative therapy dollars was for visits to alternative healthcare practitioners. Purchases of  natural non-vitamin, non-mineral products is equivalent to approximately one-third of total out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs.  More than one-third of adults (38.3%) use alternative medicine.

In looking at the data between 2002 and 2007 some interesting stabilities and shifts in the data can be noted. CAM is still predominantly used for pain treatment, especially back and neck pain. However, in 2002, consumers used CAM for head and chest cold treatment (9.5%) at a much higher rate than in 2007 (2%). In 2002 the most popular non-vitamin/non-mineral products used were echinacea (40.3%), gingseng (24.1%), ginko (21.7%), and garlic (19.9%). In 2007, consumers were using fish oils/omega 3 (37.4%), glucosamine (19.9%), echinacea (19.8%) and flaxseed (15.9%). All but one (echinacea) of the top four products used in 2007 were not even on the list in 2002. Soy supplements, which in 2002 were at the bottom of the list (9.4%), did not appear on the 2007 list.

There was a 2.3% increase in adult use of CAM between 2002 and 2007. The greatest use being among those age 30-69, and the highest percentage of those being age 50-59 (44.1%).

The 2007 survey included data about use of CAM by children. The most common therapies used were natural products, chiropractic/osteopathic, deep breathing, and yoga. Disease conditions for which CAM is most frequently used for children are back/neck pain, head/chest colds, and anxiety/stress.

SCENAR is considered a part of the CAM practice of biofeedback. It is good for treating pain, anxiety and stress, as well as promoting overall well being.

1 Comment

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  By Penny, August 2, 2009 @ 12:32 pm

  If this survey is considered a representative sample of the US population, the 38.8% of the population that use CAM represents 116,815,000 adults. That’s a lot of folks!

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