Health status of people using complementary and alternative medical practitioner services in 4 English counties.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to establish the health status of users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services in England.


METHODS
A postal questionnaire (response rate: 64%) covering long-standing illness, use of conventional medical and CAM services, and the United Kingdom Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was sent to more than 14 000 adults in 4 counties.


RESULTS
Sixty percent of CAM users reported having a chronic illness or disability; back pain and bowel problems were the conditions most commonly reported. Regardless of whether chronic illness was reported, CAM users reported poorer health than nonusers, particularly in the dimensions of pain and physical disability, and made more visits to general practitioners.


CONCLUSIONS
In England, users of CAM services have poorer physical health than nonusers and make more frequent use of conventional medical services.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003710:Demography; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires