Table 3.
Prevalence of oral complementary medicine and alternative practitioner use in relation to demographic factors, chronic disease, and chronic disease risk factors
| Factors | Oral CM % (n) | P | Alternative practitioner % (n) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||||
| Sex | Male | 21.4 (330) | <0.01 | 4.4 (69) | <0.01 |
| Female | 34.2 (553) | 10.0 (161) | |||
| Age, years | <45 | 23.7 (363) | <0.01 | 8.8 (137) | <0.01 |
| 45–64 | 31.7 (315) | 7.4 (74) | |||
| 65+ | 32.3 (205) | 3.1 (19) | |||
| Education | Secondary school | 26.3 (384) | 0.15 | 4.4 (65) | <0.01 |
| diploma, trade qualification | 29.5 (340) | 8.3 (96) | |||
| university degree | 29.2 (159) | 12.5 (68) | |||
| Annual household income | <$20,000 | 27.8 (166) | 0.95 | 4.1 (24) | <0.01 |
| $20,001–50,000 | 27.8 (288) | 5.5 (58) | |||
| $50,001–80,000 | 28.9 (239) | 8.0 (66) | |||
| ≥$80,001 | 27.2 (151) | 13.1 (73) | |||
| Employed | No | 30.7 (319) | 0.01 | 4.2 (43) | <0.01 |
| Yes | 26.4 (551) | 8.8 (187) | |||
| Chronic disease | |||||
| Diabetes | No | 27.9 (814) | 0.88 | 7.5 (220) | 0.11 |
| Undiagnosed‡ | 25.0 (6) | 3.6 (7) | |||
| Diagnosed† | 29.1 (58) | 8.3 (2) | |||
| Asthma | No | 27.7 (722) | 0.56 | 7.0 (182) | 0.18 |
| Undiagnosed‡ | 26.8 (34) | 7.9 (10) | |||
| Diagnosed† | 30.1 (122) | 9.5 (38) | |||
| Arthritis | No | 25.7 (630) | <0.01 | 7.5 (188) | 0.09 |
| Yes | 36.1 (234) | 5.6 (37) | |||
| Joint pain/stiffness* | No | 22.9 (300) | <0.01 | 6.3 (109) | <0.01 |
| Yes | 32.1 (531) | 8.5 (121) | |||
| Osteoporosis† | No | 27.4 (824) | 0.007 | 7.4 (224) | 0.23 |
| Yes | 38.9 (44) | 4.4 (5) | |||
| Mental health condition† | No | 26.8 (708) | <0.01 | 6.5 (173) | <0.01 |
| Yes | 33.8 (161) | 11.6 (56) | |||
| Depressive symptoms (CES-D) | None | 26.5 (725) | <0.01 | 6.9 (192) | 0.11 |
| Mild | 37.3 (100) | 9.3 (25) | |||
| Moderate/severe | 40.0 (44) | 10.9 (12) | |||
| CVD† | No | 27.9 (814) | 0.62 | 7.5 (222) | 0.03 |
| Yes | 26.3 (54) | 3.4 (7) | |||
| COPD‡ | No | 28.1 (837) | 0.03 | 7.3 (218) | 0.15 |
| Yes | 19.7 (24) | 4.1 (6) | |||
| Risk factors | |||||
| Smoking status | Never | 28.7 (413) | <0.01 | 8.4 (120) | 0.07 |
| Former | 30.6 (330) | 6.8 (74) | |||
| Current | 21.8 (136) | 5.6 (35) | |||
| BMI‡ | Normal | 31.8 (334) | <0.01 | 9.2 (96) | <0.01 |
| Overweight | 25.3 (299) | 7.4 (88) | |||
| Obese | 27.0 (251) | 4.8 (45) | |||
| High blood pressure‡ | No | 27.8 (645) | 0.48 | 8.2 (191) | <0.01 |
| Yes | 28.7 (233) | 4.5 (37) | |||
| High total cholesterol‡ | No | 28.0 (521) | 0.88 | 7.9 (148) | 0.10 |
| Yes | 28.2 (362) | 6.4 (81) | |||
| Exercise level | Sedentary | 29.3 (244) | 0.77 | 3.8 (31) | <0.01 |
| Low | 27.4 (291) | 7.6 (81) | |||
| Moderate | 28.8 (213) | 9.0 (67) | |||
| High | 26.8 (63) | 14.5 (34) | |||
| High-risk alcohol use | No | 27.6 (791) | 0.82 | 7.6 (216) | 0.19 |
| Yes | 28.5 (47) | 4.8 (8) | |||
*
Notes: Pain/stiffness in at least one site including hand, foot, shoulder, back, hip, and knee;
†
self-reported doctor diagnosis;
‡
clinic determined.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CES- D, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; CM, complementary medicine; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CVD, cardiovascular disease.