Alternative medicine most popular among middle-age people

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Alternative medicine most popular among middle-age people

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=32601

Middle-age people are more likely than younger or older adults to use

complementary and alternative medicine, according to researchers at

Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

" Midlife adults entered adulthood at a time of more widespread use of

complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the population and

when public health policy was shifting attention toward individual

responsibility for health and health promotion, " said ph G.

Grzywacz, Ph.D., and his colleagues, writing in the October issue of

the Journal of Aging and Health.

" Current use of CAM among adults was likely shaped by the relative

availability of CAM and prevailing public health policies in place

when adults began making their own health-related decisions. "

But the researchers added that the middle-age adults are more likely

than either young adults or older adults to use CAM for prevention

rather than for treatment of specific conditions.

" This study provides the first estimates of notable age-related

differences in whether CAM is used to treat an existing health

condition or for illness prevention and health promotion, " he said.

Grzywacz, assistant professor of family and community medicine, said

the researchers got their results from data for 31,044 people who

participated in the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. The survey

is a national sample of Americans that has been conducted annually

since 1957 by the National Center of Health Statistics, an arm of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The survey included questions on 20 types of complementary and

alternative medicine, which Grzywacz and his colleagues grouped into

four categories:

* Alternative medical systems, such as acupuncture, homeopathy and

naturopathy.

* Biologically based therapies, such as chelation therapy, folk

medicine, herb use, special diets, or megavitamins.

* Manipulative and body-based methods, such as chiropractic or

massage.

* Mind-body interventions such as relaxation techniques (meditation),

movement therapies (yoga) and healing rituals.

In each case, the survey asked participants whether they used it for

treatment, for prevention, for both, or not at all.

" Some types of complementary and alternative medicine, such as

alternative medicine systems, are used primarily for treating

existing conditions, " Grzywacz said. " Others, such as mind-body

interventions are used primarily for illness prevention and health

promotion. " But the biologically based therapies are used almost

equally for treatment and prevention.

The study, which was paid for with a grant from the National Center

on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, also looked at differences

by race and ethnicity. The data showed that use of the biologically

based therapies, such as folk medicine and herb use, rose steadily by

age group among Hispanics until old age, while use by whites and

blacks peaked in middle age.

Among the other members of the large School of Medicine research

group were A. Arcury, Ph.D., professor of family and community

medicine, and Ronny A. Bell, Ph.D., associate professor, Wei Lang,

Ph.D., assistant professor, and Sara A. Quandt, Ph.D., professor, all

of the Department of Public Health Sciences.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

http://www.wfubmc.edu