Changes among male and female visitors to practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine in a large adult Norwegian population from 1997 to 2008 (The HUNT studies)

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim was to investigate changes in the prevalence and characteristics of male and female visitors to practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a large adult population from 1997 to 2008.MethodsTwo cross sectional adult total population health surveys from Central Norwegian (the Nord-Trøndelag Health Studies (HUNT)). In 1997 42,277 and in 2008 50,713 respondents were included. Variables included demographics (age, education, working status), lifestyle (daily smoker, did hard physical activities), health status (self-rated health status, recent complaints, chronic complaints, psychiatric complaints, a range of diseases) and health care use (visit general practitioner, chiropractor). A test of difference between the results of multivariable logistic regression models for each year, including all variables, was used to analyse changes from 1997 to 2008.ResultsIn 1997 9.4% (95%CI 9.1-9.6) of the population had visited a CAM practitioner in the last 12 months and this increased to 12.6% (12.3-12.9) in 2008 (p < 0.001 for difference). Prevalence of CAM use in females was almost twice as high as that in males both years. For males, the significant changes from 1997 to 2008 (p < 0.05) were an increase in odds of visiting for those under 50 years, who had a recent complaint, were widower or did hard physical activities. There was a decrease for males who had a university degree, psychiatric complaint or hay fever. For females there was an increase in the odds for those under 50 years, who had a recent complaint or chronic complaint. It was a decrease for females with reported fair global health, psychiatric complaint, hay fever or if they had visited a chiropractor.ConclusionThe increase in visits was mainly among younger people of both genders with more limited complaints. A larger proportion of the more healthy part of the population is increasing their visits to CAM practitioners.

The use of CAM providers and psychiatric outpatient services in people with anxiety/depression: a cross-sectional survey

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Characteristics of herbal medicine users among internal medicine patients: A cross-sectional analysis

“…The estimate of herbal medicine use is also considerably higher than that reported in a 2008 population survey of 1,001 German adults (9.7%) (Bucker et al, 2008). Whilst the severity of this inpatient population's medical conditions and the generally poor health status are likely to be an important contributing factor to the relatively high level of herbal medicine use (Steinsbekk et al, 2011), there is a need to explore the extent to which this and other factors may impact herbal medicine utilisation.…”

Two-Thirds of Survey Respondents in Southern Sweden Used Complementary or Alternative Medicine in 2015

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