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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Cancer Surviv. 2016 Feb 26;10(5):850–864. doi: 10.1007/s11764-016-0530-y

Table 1.

Population characteristics of adult cancer survivors, by use of CAM therapies during the past 12 months

Non-users
 Vitamin/mineral only users a
 CAM users with or without vitamin/mineral usea
Sample
Size		 U.S.
population
estimate
no. (in
1,000s)		 Percent
Distribution
 Sample
Size		 U.S.
population
estimate
no. (in
1,000s)		 Percent
Distribution
 Sample
Size		 U.S. population
estimate no. (in
1,000s)		 Percent Distribution
% SE % SE % SE P-valuef
Cancer survivors (n=2,977)
Total 641 4,044 1.8 b 0.1 1,207 7,630 3.3 b 0.1 1,129 7,433 3.3 b 0.1 <0.001
Age, years
    18–39 51 270 6.7 1.1 43 293 3.8 0.7 103 692 9.3 1.1 <0.001
    40–64 273 1,964 48.6 2.7 384 2,678 35.1 1.8 512 3,538 47.6 1.8
    ≥65 317 1,809 44.7 2.7 780 4,659 61.1 1.8 514 3,202 43.1 1.8
    Mean (SE) 61.9 (0.8) 66.7 (0.5) 60.7 (0.6) <0.001
    Median (range) 63 (60.6–65.4) 69 (67.5–70.5) 62 (61–63)
Sex
    Male 304 2,069 51.2 2.7 470 3,291 43.1 1.8 395 2,801 37.7 1.8 0.002
    Female 337 1,975 48.8 2.7 737 4,340 56.9 1.8 734 4,632 62.3 1.8
Race/Ethnicityc
    Non-Hispanic white 472 3,213 79.7 1.8 964 6,402 84.1 1.4 972 6,741 91.1 0.9
    Hispanic 53 280 6.9 1.1 67 399 5.2 0.9 55 271 3.7 0.6 <0.001
    Non-Hispanic Black/African 92 399 9.9 1.3 141 558 7.3 0.7 56 223 3 0.4
    American
Educationc
    High school graduate or less 351 2,102 52.4 2.5 566 3,284 43.2 1.9 316 2,014 27.1 1.7 <0.001
    Associate’s degree/some college 186 1,245 31 2.5 339 2,228 29.3 1.7 365 2,311 31.2 1.6
    Bachelor’s degree and above 100 666 16.6 2.1 299 2,096 27.6 1.8 445 3,093 41.7 1.8
Marital statusc
    Single 63 260 6.4 1.0 84 380 5 0.8 107 550 7.4 0.9 0.004
    Married/living with partner 311 2,602 64.3 2.3 584 4,798 62.9 1.8 593 4,949 66.6 1.7
    Divorce/separated 142 606 15 1.5 318 1,427 18.7 1.2 178 778 10.5 1.1
    Widowed 124 573 14.2 1.6 220 1,022 13.4 1.2 250 1,151 15.5 1.2
Employmentc
    Working for pay 198 1,446 35.8 2.8 293 1,992 26.1 1.6 452 3,128 42.1 2.0 <0.001
    Not looking for work 409 2,400 59.3 2.7 858 5,213 68.4 1.7 600 3,796 51.1 2.0
Family incomec
    $0–$49,999 428 2,172 56.2 2.8 727 3,777 53.7 2.1 532 2,812 40.3 1.7 <0.001
    $50,000–$74,999 81 676 17.5 2.3 157 1,151 16.4 1.4 184 1,238 17.7 1.5
    $75,000 or more 104 1,018 26.3 2.7 245 2,108 30 2.0 351 2,925 41.9 2.0
Previous cancer diagnosisd
    Breast 104 566 14 1.7 248 1,421 18.6 1.4 194 1,184 15.9 1.4 <0.001
    Prostate 87 612 15.1 1.9 155 957 12.5 1.1 104 769 10.3 1.3
    Other female genital system 93 499 12.3 1.6 145 772 10.1 1.1 158 931 12.5 1.2
    Other 61 459 11.3 1.7 115 805 10.6 1.2 83 536 7.2 1.0
    Unknown 137 1,010 25 2.4 251 1,868 24.5 1.7 317 2,179 29.3 1.8
Years since cancer diagnosisc
    ≤1 77 526 18.3 2.7 142 791 14.8 1.5 106 661 13.4 1.6 0.05
    >1– 5 115 714 24.9 2.6 219 1,281 24 1.8 202 1,518 30.7 2.0
    >5–10 115 693 24.2 2.6 180 1,135 21.3 2.0 161 916 18.5 1.7
    >10 169 935 32.6 2.8 348 2,132 39.9 2.1 299 1,858 37.5 2.0
Health Insurancec
    Yes 582 3,707 91.7 1.4 1,160 7,339 96.3 0.8 1,042 6,953 93.5 0.7
    No 58 334 8.3 1.4 43 279 3.7 0.8 87 480 6.5 0.7 0.005
Has a personal health care
providerc
    Yes 514 3,140 85.3 2.0 1,075 6,829 92 1.0 961 6,352 90 1.1 0.02
    No 76 541 14.7 2.0 102 595 8 1.0 112 707 10 1.1
Perceived health status
    Excellent 76 511 12.7 1.8 161 1,130 14.8 1.3 184 1,343 18.1 1.5 <0.001
    Very good 135 924 22.9 2.4 292 2,061 27 1.7 366 2,529 34.1 1.7
    Good 210 1,238 30.7 2.3 418 2,612 34.2 1.8 332 2,117 28.5 1.6
    Fair 147 947 23.4 2.1 243 1,318 17.3 1.4 166 991 13.4 1.2
    Poor 71 418 10.3 1.5 93 509 6.7 0.9 80 444 6 0.8
Comorbidity indexe
    0 185 1,345 33.3 2.6 255 1,704 22.3 1.5 300 2,174 29.2 1.5 0.13
    1 167 1,002 24.8 2.1 346 2,370 31.1 1.8 345 2,296 30.9 1.6
    2 154 951 23.5 2.1 312 1,890 24.8 1.5 270 1,622 21.8 1.5
    3+ 135 746 18.5 1.9 294 1,666 21.8 1.6 214 1,342 18.1 1.5
Number of CAM modalities usedg
    0 641 4043.7 100.0 0 1207 7630.2 100.0 0 113 782.5 10.5 1.0 NE
    1–3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 906 5982.5 80.5 1.4
    4+ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 667.6 9.0 1.0
Cancer-free adults (n=30,551)
Total 9,979 67,876 29.8b 0.4 10,201 69,586 30.5b 0.4 10,384 71,373 31.3b 0.4 <0.001
Age, years
    18–39 4,354 32,221 47.5 0.7 3,519 25,909 37.2 0.7 4,040 28,642 40.1 0.7 <0.001
    40–64 4,069 27,437 40.4 0.7 4,300 30,142 43.3 0.6 4,720 33,661 47.2 0.7
    ≥65 1,556 8,218 12.1 0.4 2,382 13,535 19.5 0.5 1,624 9,070 12.7 0.4
    Mean (SE) 42.6 (0.2) 47.4 (0.3) 45.1 (0.2) <0.001
    Median (range) 41 (40.5–41.5) 47 (46–48) 45 (44.5–45.5)
Sex
    Male 5,357 39,787 58.6 0.6 4,203 31,794 45.7 0.7 4,123 30,070 42.1 0.7 <0.00 1
    Female 4,622 28,090 41.4 0.6 5,998 37,792 54.3 0.7 6,261 41,303 57.9 0.7
Race/Ethnicityc
    Non-Hispanic white 4,798 38,156 56.4 0.8 5,892 45,237 65.2 0.6 7,167 53,434 75.2 0.6 <0.00 1
    Hispanic 2,451 14,705 21.7 0.7 1,826 10,977 15.8 0.5 1,283 7,590 10.7 0.4
    Non-Hispanic Black/African American 1,948 10,542 15.6 0.5 1,794 9,484 13.7 0.4 1,025 5,398 7.6 0.3
    American Indian/Alaskan Native 86 462.4 0.7 0.1 77 394.1 0.6 0.1 83 459 0.6 0.1
    Asian (Asian Indian, Chinese,
Filipino, Other Asian)		 634 3,757 5.6 0.3 580 3,318 4.8 0.3 759 4,186 5.9 0.3
Educationc
    High school graduate or less 5,568 36,564 54.2 0.7 4,410 28,685 41.4 0.7 2,796 18,675 26.2 0.6 <0.00 1
    Associate’s degree/some college 2,643 18,656 27.7 0.6 3,180 22,042 31.8 0.6 3,574 24,597 34.5 0.7
    Bachelor’s degree and above 1,706 12,244 18.1 0.5 2,568 18,580 26.8 0.6 3,996 27,967 39.3 0.7
Marital statusc
    Single 2,924 19,786 29.2 0.7 2,303 14,517 20.9 0.6 2,533 15,306 21.4 0.6 <0.00 1
    Married/living with partner 4,703 37,611 55.4 0.7 5,054 42,383 60.9 0.6 5,363 45,206 63.3 0.7
    Divorce/separated 711 2,912 4.3 0.2 1,133 4,905 7 0.3 699 2,972 4.2 0.2
    Widowed 1,616 7,476 11 0.4 1,686 7,667 11 0.4 1,768 7,776 10.9 0.3
Employmentc
    Working for pay 5,581 39,619 58.4 0.7 5,446 38,831 55.8 0.7 6,520 45,921 64.4 0.6 <0.00 1
    Working not for pay/with a
business but not at work		 248 1,974 2.9 0.2 283 2,131 3.1 0.2 406 3,091 4.3 0.3
    Looking for work 783 5,669 8.4 0.4 579 3,970 5.7 0.3 524 3,656 5.1 0.3
    Not looking for work 3,360 20,567 30.3 0.7 3,885 24,610 35.4 0.7 2,931 18,685 26.2 0.6
Family incomec
    $0–$49,999 6,448 37,050 57.5 0.7 5,753 32,067 48.6 0.7 4,820 26,212 38.3 0.8 <0.00 1
    $50,000–$74,999 1,302 10,438 16.2 0.5 1,633 12,025 18.2 0.6 1,819 12,762 18.6 0.5
    $75,000 or more 1,771 17,003 26.4 0.6 2,321 21,855 33.1 0.8 3,354 29,464 43.1 0.8
Health Insurancec
    Yes 7,276 50,307 74.4 0.6 8,543 58,892 84.9 0.5 8,856 61,768 86.7 0.4
    No 2,666 17,275 25.6 0.6 1,619 10,457 15.1 0.5 1,505 9,456 13.3 0.4 <0.00 1
Has a personal health care
providerc
    Yes 5,573 38,749 75 0.7 7,146 48,742 81.3 0.6 7,420 51,452 84.1 0.6 <0.00 1
    No 1,938 12,887 25 0.7 1,616 11,178 18.7 0.6 1,438 9,749 15.9 0.6
Perceived health status
    Excellent 2,615 19,615 28.9 0.6 2,542 19,226 27.7 0.6 3,053 22,635 31.7 0.6 <0.00 1
    Very good 2,913 20,360 30 0.6 3,204 22,914 33 0.6 3,551 24,615 34.5 0.6
    Good 2,860 18,712 27.6 0.6 2,929 18,608 26.8 0.6 2,611 17,419 24.4 0.6
    Fair 1,229 7,107 10.5 0.4 1,168 6,576 9.5 0.3 917 5,213 7.3 0.3
    Poor 360 2,061 3 0.2 352 2,205 3.2 0.2 249 1,479 2.1 0.2
Comorbidity indexe
    0 6,236 44,508 65.6 0.6 5,367 39,354 56.6 0.6 5,702 41,099 57.6 0.6 <0.00 1
    1 2,048 13,354 19.7 0.5 2,411 15,664 22.5 0.5 2,623 17,240 24.2 0.5
    2 983 6,005 8.8 0.4 1,395 8,697 12.5 0.4 1,256 8,378 11.7 0.4
    3+ 712 4,009 5.9 0.3 1,028 5,870 8.4 0.4 803 4,656 6.5 0.3
Number of CAM modalities usedg
    0 9,979 67,867.4 100.0 0 10,201 69,565.5 100.0 0 1,221 8,445.4 11.8 0.5 NE
    1–3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8,166 56,363 79.0 0.5
    4+ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 997 6,530.4 9.2 0.3

Abbreviations: CAM, complementary and alternative medicine; SE, standard error

a

Respondents were categorized as non-users during the past 12 months, those who used vitamins and minerals only during the past 12 months (“vitamin/mineral users”), and those who used at least one CAM modality with or without vitamins and minerals in the past 12 months (“CAM users with or without vitamin/mineral use”)

b

The percent and SE for totals are based on the entire adult population.

c

Excludes refused, not ascertained, don’t know. For cancer survivors, data on the following categories were not shown because these estimates did not meet the standard of reliability or precision: American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Working not for pay/with a business but not at work, and looking for work.

d

Participants with multiple cancers are counted in multiple categories. Other female genital system includes uterine, cervical, endometrial, and ovarian; urinary includes bladder and kidney; gastrointestinal includes gallbladder, pancreas, esophageal, and stomach; hematologic malignancies includes blood cancers and leukemia; other includes lymphoma, thyroid, throat-pharynx, bone, testicular, mouth/tongue/lip, brain, soft tissue, larynx-windpipe and other. Data on the following categories were not shown because these estimates did not meet the standard of reliability or precision: melanoma, colorectal, urinary, gastrointestinal, lung, hematologic malignancies and multiple cancers.

e

The comorbidity index includes hypertension, asthma, kidney disease, chronic obstruct pulmonary disease, diabetes, hepatitis, coronary heart disease, stroke, and arthritis.

f

We used ANOVA to calculate the p-value for age, and we used the chi square test of independence to calculate p-values for all other variables.

g

Limited to use of CAM modalities and excludes multivitamins/multiminerals, and vitamins/minerals.