Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Among Patients with Cancer, Diabetes and Hypertension in the United States

Objective:  Cancer, diabetes and hypertension are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Neither disease has a cure but carries with them significant social and economic costs.  The use of these therapies has been gaining popularity. However, much remains to be learned about the true magnitude of these products and the reasons for their use.  The purpose of our study is twofold:  1) estimate the prevalence of CAM use in general among cancer, diabetic and hypertension patients, and 2) examine correlates of CAM utilization among disease dyads and triads.  Methods:  Data for 15, 463 adult Americans were obtained from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and CAM supplement.  The outcome of interest was the frequency of CAM use among persons with cancer, diabetes, or hypertension.  Data were weighted and analyzed using Stata software version 12 for Windows.  In addition to descriptive and bivariate statistics, multivariate logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds of CAM use by selected covariates. In addition to descriptive and bivariate statistics, multivariate logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds of CAM use by selected covariates, disease dyads and triads.  Results: The sample was 55% female and 45% male. Overall CAM use was reported in 29.5% of participants.  At the multivariate level, gender, age, race, lack of a regular source of care, smoking, and alcohol consumption were significant (p <0.05). Conclusion: Policy implications will be discussed along with detailed results from the analysis.