BETHESDA, Md., May 27 (UPI) -- A nationwide government survey has shown 36 percent of U.S. adults ages 18 years and over use some form of complementary and alternative medicine.
CAM is defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine.
When prayer specifically for health reasons is included in the definition of CAM, the number of U.S. adults using some form of CAM in the past year rises to 62 percent.
The survey, administered to over 31,000 representative U.S. adults, was conducted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2002 National Health Interview Survey.
The survey 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.
