Statistics on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
National Health Interview Survey
The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is an annual study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), in which tens of thousands of Americans are interviewed about their health- and illness-related experiences. The complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) section of NHIS, developed by NCHS and NCCAM, began in 2002 and is administered every 5 years.
2007 NHIS
The 2007 NHIS gathered data from 23,393 completed interviews with U.S. adults aged 18 years and over and 9,417 completed interviews for U.S. children aged 0–17. The 2007 CAM section included questions on 36 types of CAM therapies commonly used in the United States—10 types of provider-based therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, and 26 other therapies that do not require a provider, such as herbal supplements and meditation.
-
CAM Use: Adults and Children, 2007
In 2007, approximately 38 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years and over and approximately 12 percent of children used some form of CAM.
View press release, fact sheet, full report, and graphics about CAM Use in 2007 -
CAM Cost and Spending, 2007
In 2007, U.S. adults spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on visits to CAM practitioners and purchases of CAM products, classes, and materials.
View press release, fact sheet, full report, and graphics about CAM Costs in 2007
2002 NHIS
The 2002 NHIS gathered data from 31,044 completed interviews with U.S. adults age 18 years and over. The 2002 CAM section of NHIS included questions on 27 types of CAM therapies commonly used in the United States. These included 10 types of provider-based therapies, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, and 17 other therapies that do not require a provider, such as natural products (herbs or botanical products), special diets, and megavitamin therapy.
-
CAM Use, 2002
The 2002 NHIS survey found that approximately 36 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years and over used some form of CAM.
View press release, fact sheet, full report, and graphics about CAM Use in 2002
Resources:
* Note: PDF files require a viewer such as the free Adobe Reader.