Effects of complementary therapy on health in a national U.S. sample of older adults

The study objectives were to identify types of complementary therapy that are most predictive of health outcomes, including functional status, physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and mental HRQoL among older adults.

This was a prospective study.

The study comprised computer-assisted interviews conducted in participants' homes.

Subjects included 1683 adults aged 55 and older who participated in the 2002 National Health Interview Survey and the 2003 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

None.

Functional status, physical HRQoL, and mental HRQoL at 1-year follow-up.

The use of biologically based therapies predicted better functional status, such that users reported less functional impairment than nonusers (p < 0.01), adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, health insurance, household income, and comorbid conditions. Users of manipulative and body-based methods reported less functional impairment (p < 0.05). They also reported better physical and mental health-related quality of life, though these relationships were marginally significant. Other groups of therapies, alternative medical systems, mind-body therapies, and prayer were not predictive of either functional status or HRQoL.

Favorable effects were observed among users of biologically based therapies and users of manipulative and body-based methods. Other types of complementary therapy had no effects on health status over a 1-year follow-up period.