Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015:2015:362582.
doi: 10.1155/2015/362582. Epub 2015 Jan 8.

Type of Multimorbidity and Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among Adults

Monira Alwhaibi  1 , Rituparna Bhattacharya  1 , Usha Sambamoorthi  1
Affiliations

Type of Multimorbidity and Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among Adults

Monira Alwhaibi et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015.

Abstract

Objective. To examine the association between type of multimorbidity and CAM use among adults with multimorbidity. Methods. The current study used a cross-sectional design with retrospective data from 2012 National Health Interview Survey. Multimorbidity was classified into two groups: (1) adults with coexisting physical and mental illnesses and (2) adults with two or more chronic physical illnesses only. CAM use was measured using a set of 18 variables. Logistic regression and multinomial logistic regressions were used to assess the association between the type of multimorbidity and ever used CAM, CAM use in the past 12 months, and type of CAM. Results. Overall, 31.2% of adults with coexisting physical and mental illnesses and 20.1% of adults with only physical illnesses used CAM in the past 12 months. Adults with coexisting physical and mental illnesses were more likely to ever use CAM (AOR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.49, 1.90), use CAM in the past 12 months (AOR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.15, 1.52), and use mind-body therapies in the past 12 months (AOR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.59) compared to adults with only physical illnesses. Conclusion. Multimorbidity of chronic physical and mental illnesses was associated with higher CAM use.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Saydah S. H., Eberhardt M. S. Use of complementary and alternative medicine among adults with chronic diseases: United States 2002. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2006;12(8):805–812. doi: 10.1089/acm.2006.12.805. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Smith S. M., Soubhi H., Fortin M., Hudon C., O'Dowd T. Managing patients with multimorbidity: Systematic review of interventions in primary care and community settings. British Medical Journal. 2012;345(7874) doi: 10.1136/bmj.e5205.e5205 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bell R. A., Suerken C. K., Grzywacz J. G., Lang W., Quandt S. A., Arcury T. A. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults with diabetes in the United States. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 2006;12(5):16–22. - PubMed
    1. Fortin M., Soubhi H., Hudon C., Bayliss E. A., van den Akker M. Multimorbidity's many challenges. British Medical Journal. 2007;334(7602):1016–1017. doi: 10.1136/bmj.39201.463819.2c. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boyd C. M., Ritchie C. S., Tipton E. F., Studenski S. A., Wieland D. From bedside to bench: Summary from the American Geriatrics Society/National Institute on Aging Research Conference on Comorbidity and Multiple Morbidity in Older Adults. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. 2008;20(3):181–188. doi: 10.1007/bf03324775. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources