New Harvard Study

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Alternative Medicine Here To Stay, Harvard Study Says

 

Will the demand for complementary and alternative medicine fade or is

it here to stay? While U.S. medical schools are developing

complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) course work, and managed

care organizations are providing some coverage for CAM therapies,

little data existed to answer this question. Until now.

A new study by Harvard Medical School researchers, looking at trends

over the past half-century, suggests that CAM is indeed here to stay

for the foreseeable future.

 

The study, which appears in the August 21 Annals of Internal

Medicine, examined trends in the use of 20 different CAMs, covering

everything from acupuncture to yoga, among representative

sociodemographic groups across the continental U.S.

 

" The findings really dispel two ideas, namely that complementary and

alternative medicine is just a passing fad, and that it is used by

one particular segment of society, " said Ronald Kessler, Harvard

Medical School professor of health care policy, who authored the

study through the Harvard Medical School Division of Research and

Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies and the

Center for Alternative Medicine Research and Education at Beth Israel

Deaconess Medical Center.

 

The use of alternative treatments was independent of gender,

ethnicity, and level of education. Regional trends and city versus

rural differences were also absent. Most of the 20 therapies have

steadily increased in popularity since the 1960s, with the largest

overall growth rate occurring during the transition from the 1960s to

the 1970s.

 

Data compiled from over 2,000 interviews did show a trend towards the

use of these therapies in younger respondents; by age 33, 7 out of 10

post-baby boomers (born 1965-79) had used some type of CAM, compared

to 5 out of 10 baby boomers (born 1945-64), and 3 out of 10 pre-baby

boomers (born before 1945). However, in all age groups the use of

CAMs has steadily increased since the 1950s.

 

Some individuals reported using alternative therapies for many years.

Of those respondents who had tried an alternative therapy, almost 50

percent were still using it 11 to 20 years later. This persistence is

consistent with findings in a previous study that suggested most CAM

therapies are used-at least in part-as preventative measures or as

part of a regular fitness program.

 

While all therapies showed increased usage over the decades, the

study yielded interesting insights into the timing of societal

adoption of particular therapies. In the 1960s, four particular

therapies increased markedly-commercial diet programs, lifestyle diet

therapy, megavitamin therapy, and self-help groups. The 1970s showed

increased use of biofeedback, energy healing, herbal medicine, and

imagery. During the 1980s, massage and naturopathy increased, while

yoga decreased in popularity. The 1990s showed particular increased

adoption of aromatherapy, energy healing, herbal medicine, massage,

and yoga.

 

The authors caution that while the data indicates that the demand for

alternative medicine will continue and may well grow, their analysis

cannot predict dramatic events that may tip prevalence patterns in

one direction or another.

 

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the

John E. Ferzer Institute, the American Society of Actuaries, Friends

of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Kenneth J. Germeshausen

Foundation, and the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation. - By John Lacey