Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Use of complementary and alternative medicine in the past year by adults with chronic diseases: baby boomers versus the silent generation.
- Figure 2.
Use of complementary and alternative medicine in the past year by adults with painful conditions: baby boomers versus the silent generation.
Tables
Characteristics Baby Boomers (n = 7734) Silent Generation (n = 4682) P Value % SE % SE Demographics Sex .003 Male 48.27 0.64 44.84 0.91 Female 51.73 0.64 55.16 0.91 Educational attainment <.001 High school or less 41.24 0.72 56.63 1.01 Some college or technical school 27.53 0.63 21.09 0.74 College or more advanced 31.23 0.77 22.28 0.82 Race/ethnicity <.001 Non-Hispanic white 73.85 0.71 80.35 0.69 Non-Hispanic black 11.40 0.48 8.94 0.44 Hispanic 10.55 0.48 7.23 0.48 Asian 4.20 0.28 3.48 0.28 Census region .44 Northeast 17.45 0.65 18.50 0.85 Midwest 24.13 1.00 24.47 0.98 South 36.52 0.98 36.54 1.15 West 21.90 0.76 20.48 0.89 Clinical Factors Body mass index <.001 Normal (<25 kg/m2) 32.00 0.62 34.51 0.76 Overweight (25–29.99 kg/m2) 37.39 0.69 40.00 0.77 Obese (≥30 kg/m2) 30.62 0.68 25.48 0.72 Chronic disease 26.07 0.62 51.30 0.86 <.001 Heart disease* 5.42 0.33 18.52 0.74 <.001 Diabetes 9.53 0.39 19.05 0.69 <.001 Cancer† 5.54 0.31 16.01 0.65 <.001 Lung disease‡ 10.05 0.39 13.21 0.61 <.001 Stroke 2.46 0.23 6.79 0.43 <.001 Painful condition 52.20 0.69 56.07 0.93 <.001 Neck pain 15.96 0.50 14.70 0.59 .10 Lower-back pain 28.26 0.60 29.28 0.76 .28 Facial pain 4.86 0.29 2.76 0.27 <.001 Head pain 13.16 0.48 5.70 0.39 <.001 Joint pain 34.72 0.68 43.14 0.90 <.001 - Table 2. Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in the Past 12 Months: Baby Boomers versus the Silent Generation
CAM Use Baby Boomers Silent Generation P Value % SE % SE Any CAM therapy 43.05 0.81 36.41 0.91 <.001 Alternative medical systems 4.54 0.28 2.16 0.23 <.0001 Acupuncture 2.09 0.18 1.17 0.18 .001 Ayurveda 0.07 — 0.05 — .68 Homeopathy 2.28 0.18 0.82 0.14 <.001 Naturopathy 0.51 0.10 0.31 0.10 .12 Traditional healers* 0.34 0.11 0.13 — .02 Biologically based 23.30 0.68 22.39 0.76 .32 Chelation therapy 0.09 — 0.09 — .91 Herbs 20.67 0.63 20.89 0.72 .80 Special diets† 4.38 0.29 2.72 0.29 <.001 Manipulative and body based 17.40 0.6 11.64 0.60 <.001 Chiropractic/osteopathic 10.16 0.44 8.09 0.51 .002 Massage 9.57 0.43 4.81 0.39 <.001 Movement based‡ 1.51 0.16 0.35 0.11 <.001 Mind–body 21.06 0.69 13.73 0.58 <.001 Biofeedback 0.23 0.07 0.08 — .10 Meditation 11.45 0.54 6.72 0.42 <.001 Guided imagery 3.23 0.35 1.13 0.18 <.001 Progressive relaxation 4.32 0.31 1.69 0.22 <.001 Deep breathing 15.08 0.61 9.53 0.48 <.001 Hypnosis 0.45 0.09 0.15 — .02 Stress management 1.17 0.15 0.31 0.07 <.001 Support groups 2.37 0.21 1.09 0.17 <.001 Yoga 5.90 0.33 2.20 0.28 <.001 Tai chi 1.06 0.12 1.05 0.17 .94 Qi gong 0.41 0.08 0.22 0.07 .10 Energy healing/Reiki 0.87 0.12 0.32 0.09 .001 ↵* Traditional healers include curandero, espiritista, hierbero, shaman, botanica, Native American healer, and sobador.
↵† Special diets include vegetarian, macrobiotic, Atkins, Pritikin, Ornish, The Zone, and South Beach.
↵‡ Movement-based therapies include Feldenkreis, Alexander technique, Pilates, and Trager.
SE, standard error.
- Table 3. Independent Predictors of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Use Among Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation
Predictors of CAM Use Univariate Analyses Multivariate Model* OR 95% CI AOR 95% CI Generation Silent generation Reference Reference Baby Boomer 1.32 1.20–1.45 1.30 1.17–1.44 Sex Male Reference Reference Female 1.46 1.35–1.58 1.52 1.40–1.65 Education attainment High school or less Reference Reference Some college or technical school 2.16 1.95–2.40 2.01 1.79–2.25 College or more advanced 2.59 2.33–2.88 2.69 2.40–3.02 Race/ethnicity Non-Hispanic white Reference Reference Hispanic 0.45 0.39–0.52 0.52 0.44–0.60 Non-Hispanic black 0.45 0.39–0.52 0.51 0.44–0.60 Asian 0.75 0.56–1.01 0.68 0.49–0.93 Census region Northeast Reference Reference Midwest 1.21 1.05–1.39 1.16 1.01–1.34 South 0.85 0.74–0.98 0.89 0.78–1.02 West 1.51 1.32–1.72 1.48 1.28–1.70 Chronic disease No chronic disease Reference Reference Have chronic diseases 0.99 0.91–1.09 1.04 0.94–1.15 Painful condition No painful condition Reference Reference Have painful conditions 2.19 1.97–2.43 2.26 2.03–2.52 ↵* Model adjusted for demographics, chronic diseases, and painful conditions.
AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.
- Table 4. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Use for Specific Conditions Among Baby Boomer and the Silent Generation
Conditions Univariate Multivariate* OR 95% CI OR 95% CI Chronic disease 1.40 1.20–1.63 1.38 1.17–1.63 Heart disease 1.46 1.09–1.96 1.55 1.15–2.10 Diabetes 1.53 1.17–2.00 1.64 1.25–2.15 Cancer 1.60 1.23–2.07 1.60 1.22–2.10 Lung disease 1.25 0.97–1.61 1.22 0.93–1.60 Stroke 1.11 0.72–1.72 1.08 0.68–1.72 Painful condition 1.48 1.31–1.67 1.38 1.21–1.57 Neck pain 1.51 1.21–1.90 1.50 1.18–1.90 Lower-back pain 1.21 1.02–1.44 1.16 0.97–1.39 Facial pain 2.58 1.56–4.25 2.07 1.18–3.64 Head pain 1.60 1.12–2.28 1.59 1.11–2.28 Joint pain 1.56 1.36–1.78 1.43 1.23–1.65 ↵* Multivariate analyses adjusted for demographic factors.
CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.
