How Much of CAM Is Based on Research Evidence?
The aim of this article is to provide a preliminary estimate of how much CAM is evidence-based. For this purpose, I calculated the percentage of 685 treatment/condition pairings evaluated in the "Desktop Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine" which are supported by sound data. The resulting figure was 7.4%. For a range of reasons, it might be a gross over-estimate. Further investigations into this subject are required to arrive at more representative figures.
Ernst
Edzard
E
Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, Exeter, UK.