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Conventional and Complementary Healthcare Utilization Among US Adults With Cardiovascular Disease or Cardiovascular
Wiebke Kathrin Kohl1, Gustav Dobos1, Holger Cramer1
1Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine Evangelische Kliniken Essen-Mitte Faculty of Medicine University of Duisburg-Essen Essen Germany.
Insights
Individuals with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) or risk factors who use complementary healthcare are not less likely to follow conventional medical advice and recommended checkups. This suggests complementary therapies may not negatively impact adherence to standard medical care.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Integrative Medicine
- Cardiology
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and their risk factors require guideline-based treatment.
- General practitioners often manage CVD care, with patients also seeking complementary therapies.
- Limited data exists on how complementary healthcare use affects adherence to conventional CVD care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between complementary healthcare utilization and adherence to conventional healthcare among individuals with CVD or CVD risk factors.
- To examine the prevalence of conventional and complementary healthcare use in this population.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional analysis of the 2017 National Health Interview Survey (n=26,742).
- Examined past 12-month utilization of conventional and complementary medicine providers and mind-body therapies.
- Analyzed interactions between complementary healthcare use and consultation of general practitioners and medical specialists.
Main Results:
- 38.1% reported CVD risk factors; 11.4% had a CVD diagnosis.
- High prevalence of both conventional and complementary healthcare utilization was observed.
- Individuals using complementary healthcare were as likely or more likely to consult general practitioners and specialists.
- Complementary healthcare users showed similar adherence to medical checkups compared to non-users.
Conclusions:
- Complementary healthcare utilization is not associated with reduced adherence to conventional CVD care or recommended checkups.
- Further research is needed to confirm a potential positive association between complementary and conventional healthcare use.
Abstract:
Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and their risk factors need guideline-oriented treatment to provide the best benefit for patients. These guidelines include recommendations for regular checkups, realized by general medical practitioners. In addition, individuals with CVD or CVD risk factors tend to use complementary methods for their condition. There is limited information on the association between complementary healthcare utilization and the adherence to recommended conventional health care. Methods and Results In this cross-sectional analysis of the nationally representative 2017 National Health Interview Survey (n=26 742; response rate 80.7%) we examined the prevalence of conventional and complementary healthcare utilization within the past 12 months in individuals with CVD and/or CVD risk factors and the interactions between the two categories of health care. Of all participants, 38.1% reported risk factors for CVD and 11.4% a CVD diagnosis (groups show an overlap). Overall prevalence of visits to conventional and complementary medicine providers and the use of mind-body medicine was high within the population analyzed. Individuals with CVD and/or CVD risk factors using complementary health care were as likely or more likely to consult general practitioners (CVD: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.17; 95% CI, 0.93-1.47; CVD risk: aOR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.05-1.39) and medical specialists (CVD: aOR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.17-1.64; CVD risk: aOR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.28-1.58) than those not using complementary health care. Those using complementary health care were as likely to adhere to medical checkup as those not using complementary health care. Conclusions Complementary healthcare utilization use was not associated with a reduced adherence to conventional health care and recommended checkups. The potential positive association of complementary and conventional healthcare utilization needs to be confirmed in further studies.
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