Who Uses Alternative Medicine?
Fri, October 28, 2005 at 08:32AM Which demographic do you suppose takes the most herbs, vitamins, and mineral supplements, or makes use of acupuncture, reflexology, homeopathy, and so on? The baby boomers, that’s who! The 2002 National Health Interview Survey examined the use of alternative medicine for treatment or prevention by different age groups and ethnicity.
Overall, about a third of a third of US adults say they have used some form of alternative medicine. The most frequent users are people between 35 and 64 years of age. Those in their 40s and 50s tend to use these methods for prevention, rather than treatment, whereas younger and older age groups use alternative medicines mostly for treatment. In older Americans, those people using alternative medicines were more likely to visit their family practitioner more often.
Most popular were biologically–based methods (e.g. folk medicine, herbs, special diets, and megavitamins) and mind-body interventions (e.g. meditation, yoga, and healing rituals).
There’s no evidence that alternative medicine approaches are losing popularity – quite the reverse. But it’s also becoming clear that these therapies are being used in addition to conventional medical treatments, rather than alternatives. That’s why they are now referred to in the medical world as “Complimentary and Alternative Medicine”, or more simply CAM .
Reader Comments (2)
Many thanks for your kind comments. Most people are more critical of those who critique alternative medicine. Bob G.