title: Factors associated with the use of St. John's wort among adults with depressive symptoms.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between access to conventional health care and the use of St. John's wort among adults who report depressive symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Logistic secondary analysis of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Supplement to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Adults who report depressive symptoms and used St. John's wort (n = 246) were compared to nonusers with depressive symptoms (n = 5,111).
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for various sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, depressed adults who could not afford needed medical care due to cost were nearly two times (AOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.38-2.67) more likely to use St. John's wort than those who could afford conventional medical care. Higher income, education, and health status were also positively associated with the use of St. John's wort.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The growing use of complementary and alternative therapies in the US is widely interpreted as evidence of changing consumer tastes and dissatisfaction with conventional medical treatment for chronic conditions like depression. However, the rising costs of conventional therapies and diminishing access to health insurance may also play a role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical, Social, and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy, The University of Michigan, 428 Church Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1065, USA. chunghwu@umich.edu
authors.forename: Chung-Hsuen
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jae
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sclar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000191:economics; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D003866:Depressive Disorder; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D020902:Hypericum; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts