Use of complementary and alternative medicine and self-rated health status: results from a national survey.
BACKGROUND
Despite the absence of conclusive evidence of effectiveness, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used by 4 of 10 adults in the US; little is known about the association between CAM use and health status.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the relation between CAM use and self-reported health status and health improvement over time.


METHODS
We performed a secondary database analysis using data from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey of non-institutionalized US residents conducted by the National Center of Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control. We identified CAM users and compared them to non-users. We used multivariable logistic regression to model the health status of respondents. We controlled for confounders including socio-demographic, clinical, and behavioral factors. The models were evaluated for discrimination and calibration.


METHODS
The likelihood of respondents to report 'Excellent' current health and 'Better' health than in the prior year.


RESULTS
Based on 23,393 respondents, we found 37% of U.S. adults used complementary and alternative medicine and 63% did not use any CAM. Compared to those who did not use CAM, CAM users were more likely to rate their health as 'Excellent' (adjusted-odds ratio (AOR) = 1.14, 95% CI = [1.03,1.26]). Similarly, CAM users were more likely to report their health as 'Better' than in the prior year (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI = [1.49,1.83]). The c-statistics for the two models were 0.755 and 0.616, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
We found a significant association between CAM use and self-rated excellent health and health improvement over the prior year. Prospective trials are required to determine whether CAM use is causally related to excellent health status and better health than in the prior year.
Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School Osher Research Center, 401 Park Drive, Suite 22-A West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Long@DrNguyen.Org
Long T
LT
Nguyen
Roger B
RB
Davis
Ted J
TJ
Kaptchuk
Russell S
RS
Phillips
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult