Complementary and alternative medicine in a military primary care clinic: a 5-year cohort study. Mil Med 2011 Jun;176(6):685-8
Date
06/28/2011Pubmed ID
21702389DOI
10.7205/milmed-d-10-00242Scopus ID
2-s2.0-80051609607 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 9 CitationsAbstract
Previous studies have found that complementary and alternative medication (CAM) use is common. We enrolled 500 adults presenting to a primary care military clinic. Subjects completed surveys before the visit, immediately afterwards, at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 5 years. Over 5 years, 25% used CAM for their presenting symptom. Most (72%) reported that CAM helped their symptom. Independent predictors of CAM use included female sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-3.7), college educated (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.8-6.3), more severe symptoms (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.01-1.28), and persistence of symptom beyond 3 months (OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 2.0-7.5). We concluded that a quarter of military primary care patients use CAM over 5 years of follow-up and most find it helpful. CAM users tend to be female and better educated. Patients with more severe symptoms or symptoms that persist beyond 3 months are also more likely to turn to CAM.
Author List
George S, Jackson JL, Passamonti MAuthor
Jeffrey L. Jackson MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Cohort StudiesComplementary Therapies
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Military Facilities
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Primary Health Care
Surveys and Questionnaires
Treatment Outcome