Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: mmwrq@cdc.gov. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged >18 Years Who Used
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) During the Preceding 12 Months, by sex
--- United States, 2002
More than half of adults used some type of CAM during the preceding 12 months. Of the 27 types* of CAM
studied, prayer for health reasons was the most frequently used. Women were more likely than men to use CAM, including prayer
for health reasons, natural products (e.g., nonvitamins and nonminerals such as herbs or herbal medicine), and
deep-breathing exercises.
* Includes acupuncture; ayurveda; homeopathic treatment; naturopathy; chelation therapy; folk medicine;
nonvitamin, nonmineral, and natural products; diet-based therapies (six subgroups); megavitamin therapy; chiropractic care;
massage; biofeedback; meditation; guided imagery; progressive relaxation; deep-breathing exercises; hypnosis; yoga; tai chi; qi gong; prayer for health reasons; and energy healing therapy/Reiki. Respondents might have reported using more than one type
of therapy.
SOURCES: Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use
among adults: United States, 2002. Advance data from vital and health statistics; no. 343. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2004. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad343.pdf.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
Disclaimer
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text
into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or
the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800.
Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
mmwrq@cdc.gov.
