http://unisci.com/stories/20013/0821016.htm
21-Aug-2001
Will the demand for complementary
and alternative medicine fade or is it here to stay? While U.S. medical
schools are developing complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) course
work, and managed care organizations are providing some coverage for CAM
therapies, little data existed to answer this question. Until now.
A new study by Harvard Medical School
researchers, looking at trends over the past half-century, suggests that
CAM is indeed here to stay for the foreseeable future.
The study, which appears in the August
21 Annals of Internal Medicine, examined trends in the use of 20 different
CAMs, covering everything from acupuncture to yoga, among representative
sociodemographic groups across the continental U.S.
"The findings really dispel two ideas,
namely that complementary and alternative medicine is just a passing fad,
and that it is used by one particular segment of society," said Ronald
Kessler, Harvard Medical School professor of health care policy, who authored
the study through the Harvard Medical School Division of Research and Education
in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies and the Center for Alternative
Medicine Research and Education at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The use of alternative treatments
was independent of gender, ethnicity, and level of education. Regional
trends and city versus rural differences were also absent. Most of the
20 therapies have steadily increased in popularity since the 1960s, with
the largest overall growth rate occurring during the transition from the
1960s to the 1970s.
Data compiled from over 2,000 interviews
did show a trend towards the use of these therapies in younger respondents;
by age 33, 7 out of 10 post-baby boomers (born 1965-79) had used some type
of CAM, compared to 5 out of 10 baby boomers (born 1945-64), and 3 out
of 10 pre-baby boomers (born before 1945). However, in all age groups the
use of CAMs has steadily increased since the 1950s.
Some individuals reported using alternative
therapies for many years. Of those respondents who had tried an alternative
therapy, almost 50 percent were still using it 11 to 20 years later. This
persistence is consistent with findings in a previous study that suggested
most CAM therapies are used-at least in part-as preventative measures or
as part of a regular fitness program.
While all therapies showed increased
usage over the decades, the study yielded interesting insights into the
timing of societal adoption of particular therapies. In the 1960s, four
particular therapies increased markedly-commercial diet programs, lifestyle
diet therapy, megavitamin therapy, and self-help groups. The 1970s showed
increased use of biofeedback, energy healing, herbal medicine, and imagery.
During the 1980s, massage and naturopathy increased, while yoga decreased
in popularity. The 1990s showed particular increased adoption of aromatherapy,
energy healing, herbal medicine, massage, and yoga.
The authors caution that while the
data indicates that the demand for alternative medicine will continue and
may well grow, their analysis cannot predict dramatic events that may tip
prevalence patterns in one direction or another.
The study was supported by the National
Institutes of Health, the John E. Ferzer Institute, the American Society
of Actuaries, Friends of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Kenneth
J. Germeshausen Foundation, and the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation. -
By John Lacey
Copyright © 1995-2001 UniSci.
[Contact: John Lacey]