38% of Adults Use Alternative Medicine

More than one-third of adults and nearly 12 percent of children in the United States use alternatives to traditional medicine, according to a large federal survey that documents how entrenched alternative therapies have become.

The 2007 survey of more than 32,000 Americans, which for the first time included children, found that use of yoga, "probiotics," fish oil and other "complementary and alternative" therapies held steady among adults since the last national survey five years earlier, and that such treatments have become part of health care for many youngsters.

"It's clear that millions of Americans every year are turning to complementary and alternative medicine," said Richard L. Nahin of the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which released the survey. "The use of complementary and alternative medicine seems to have stabilized in the United States."

The most commonly used are dietary supplements and herbal products, followed by deep-breathing exercises, meditation, chiropractic therapy, massage and yoga. "I think it's fair to say we can conclude that this is part of the steady state of medical care in the United States," said David Eisenberg, director of the Harvard Medical School's division for research and education in complementary and integrative medical therapies. "I think the news is complementary and alternative medicine use by the U.S. public is here to stay.

Here are the 10 most common CAM treatments among adults, according to NCAAM.

1. Natural products: 17.7%
   (most common: EPA/DHA fish oil)
2. Deep-breathing exercises: 12.7%
3. Meditation: 9.4%
4. Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation: 8.6%
5. Massage: 8.3%
6. Yoga: 6.1%
7. Diet-based therapies: 3.6%
8. Progressive relaxation: 2.9%
9. Guided imagery: 2.2%
10. Homeopathic treatment: 1.8%

Courtesy of the Washington Post