December 2004

The Alternative Medicine & Natural Health Newsletter is sponsored by
ALTERNATIVE HEALTH INSURANCE SERVICES (AHIS).

Since 1985, AHIS has helped businesses and individuals find the best value in health insurance with an emphasis on coverage for alternative medicine and natural therapies. Please visit www.AlternativeInsurance.com to learn about options for your personal or group health insurance.

MORE THAN ONE-THIRD OF U.S. ADULTS USE COMPLEMENTARY
AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

According to a recent nationwide government survey, 36 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years and over use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM is defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. When prayer specifically for health reasons is included in the definition of CAM, the number of U.S. adults using some form of CAM in the past year rises to 62 percent.

" These new findings confirm the extent to which Americans have turned to CAM approaches with the hope that they would help treat and prevent disease and enhance quality of life," said Stephen E. Straus, M.D., Director, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). "The data not only assists us in understanding who is using CAM, what is being used, and why, but also in studying relationships between CAM use and other health characteristics, such chronic health conditions, insurance coverage, and health behaviors."

The survey, administered to over 31,000 representative U.S. adults, was conducted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Developed by NCCAM and the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the survey included questions on 27 types of CAM therapies commonly used in the United States. These included 10 types of provider-based therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, and 17 other therapies that do not require a provider, such as natural products (herbs or botanical products), special diets, and megavitamin therapy.

Although there have been many surveys of CAM use to date, the various surveys included fewer choices of CAM therapies. In addition, they often surveyed smaller population samples primarily relying on telephone or mail surveys versus in-person interviews used for this survey. Thus, the results from the CAM portion of the NHIS provide the most comprehensive and reliable data to date describing CAM use by the U.S. adult population.

Overall, the survey revealed that CAM use was greater among a variety of population groups, including women; people with higher education; those who had been hospitalized within the past year; and former smokers, compared to current smokers or those who had never smoked. In addition, this was the first survey to yield substantial information on CAM use by minorities. For example, it found that African American adults were more likely than white or Asian adults to use CAM when megavitamin therapy and prayer were included in the definition of CAM.

" We're continuously expanding the health information we collect in this country, including information on the actions people take in dealing with their own health situations," said NCHS Director Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D. "Over the years we've concentrated on traditional medical treatment, but this new collection of CAM data taps into another dimension entirely. What we see is that a sizable percentage of the public puts their personal health into their own hands."

CAM approaches were most often used to treat back pain or problems, colds, neck pain or problems, joint pain or stiffness, and anxiety or depression. However, only about 12 percent of adults sought care from a licensed CAM practitioner, suggesting that most people who use CAM do so without consulting a practitioner. According to the survey, the 10 most commonly used CAM therapies and the approximate percent of U.S. adults using each therapy were:

• Prayer for own health, 43 percent
• Prayer by others for the respondent's health, 24 percent
• Natural products (such as herbs, other botanicals, and enzymes), 19 percent
• Deep breathing exercises, 12 percent Participation in prayer group for own health, 10 percent
• Meditation, 8 percent
• Chiropractic care, 8 percent
• Yoga, 5 percent
• Massage, 5 percent
• Diet-based therapies (such as Atkins, Pritikin, Ornish, and Zone diets), 4 percent.

In addition to gathering data on the use of CAM practices, the survey also sought information about why people use CAM. Key findings indicate that:

• 55 percent of adults said they were most likely to use CAM because they believed that it would help them when combined with conventional medical treatments;
• 50 percent thought CAM would be interesting to try;
• 26 percent used CAM because a conventional medical professional suggested they try it; and
• 13 percent used CAM because they felt that conventional medicine was too expensive.

Interestingly, the survey also found that about 28 percent of adults used CAM because they believed conventional medical treatments would not help them with their health problem; this is in contrast to previous findings that CAM users are not, in general, dissatisfied with conventional medicine.

The results of the survey reveal new patterns of CAM use among various population groups and provide a rich source of data for future research. Furthermore, the survey results provide a baseline for future surveys, as it establishes a consistent definition of CAM that can be used to track trends and prevalence of CAM use.

NCCAM, a component of the National Institutes of Health, DHHS, is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science, training CAM researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals. For additional information, call NCCAM's Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226 or visit NCCAM's Web site at nccam.nih.gov.

The NCHS is a component of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NCHS's mission is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and policies to improve the health of the American people. The CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.

Bastyr University Begins New NIH Research on Mushrooms
US-based natural healing institute, Bastyr University, has partnered with the University of Minnesota on a 3-year grant to study turkey tail mushroom and immune response in treating breast and prostate cancers. According to Bastyr, the University's portion of the three-year award will total $792,000.
Internet Resources:
Press Release on NPIcenter
Bastyr Website

Vitamin E Intake and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
According to a communication published in the Annals of Neurology, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, examining the effects of vitamin E and C on individuals age 30 or older who participated in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study II, determined that regular use of vitamin E supplements was associated with a lower risk of dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), while no significant associations were found for use of vitamin C or multivitamins.
Internet Resources:
Abstract in Annals of Neurology

Discovery Shows New Vitamin C Health Benefits
According to a release on the AScribe Newswire, researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, in a study published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have further determined how vitamin C neutralizes toxic byproducts of fat metabolism, identifying its complex protective role.
Internet Resources:
Press Release on AScribe

Compounds in Scotch Pine Could Help Treat Arthritis and Pain
According to an article on News-medical.net, researchers at the University of Turku in Finland have determined that highly purified preparations of pine bark extract, used in preliminary cell studies, exhibit potent anti-inflammatory effects. According to the article, the study involved using various extracts against mouse inflammatory cells for their ability to produce nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2, and is to appear in the December 29th print issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Internet Resources:
Article on News-medical.net

Iron Deficiency in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Accordign to research published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (Vol. 158 No. 12, December 2004), iron deficiency may contribute to the physiopathology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and therefore that ADHD children may benefit from iron supplementation.
Internet Resources:
Abstract in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine

Clinical Study Shows Walnuts Protective for People with Type 2 Diabetes
An study at the National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods, located at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and published in the December 2004 issue of Diabetes Care, shows that, for patients with type 2 diabetes, a whole foods diet including walnuts can reduce LDL "bad" cholesterol by 10%.
Internet Resources:
Press Release on NPIcenter

Information in this newsletter is obtained from various sources and you are encouraged to conduct further research into any areas that you find interesting. Nothing contained in this newsletter is intended to recommend any treatment or therapy. Our intent is to provide you with information and data that we believe is of interest to you.