The Prevalence and Determinants of Using Traditional Chinese Medicine Among Middle-aged and Older Chinese Adults: Results From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.
BACKGROUND
Although traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is known as an integrative part of China's health care system, little is known on the prevalence and determinants of using TCM among the middle-aged and older Chinese population, especially among those with chronic conditions.


METHODS
The nationwide survey data of 17,708 Chinese adults aged 45 and older from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were used to estimate the prevalence of TCM. SAS SURVEYLOGISTIC procedure was applied to identify factors associated with using TCM. Analysis took into account the complex survey design and nonresponse rate.


RESULTS
The prevalence of using TCM was 19.3% (95% CI 18.4%-20.1%) among the overall participants and 24.5% (95% CI 23.4%-25.5%) among those with self-reported chronic conditions. Participants with stroke, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney diseases were the most frequent users of TCM to treat their conditions. Age, individual income, and family income were associated with TCM use; however, when further controlling for chronic diseases, these variables became nonsignificant. Besides TCM, 4.4% (3.8%-5.0%) and 4.6% (4.0%-5.2%) of the overall participants and those with chronic conditions, respectively, used other forms of complementary and alternative medicine.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of using TCM was high among the middle-aged and older Chinese population. The use of TCM was mainly driven by chronic conditions. The main conditions that patients used TCM to treat were stroke, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease.
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
Tingting
T
Liu
Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
Xiang
X
Li
Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Zhi-Yong
ZY
Zou
Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA. Electronic address: cli8@tulane.edu.
Changwei
C
Li
D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Traditional Chinese medicine; chronic diseases; determinants; prevalence