Utilization of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine practices among US adults with and without a...

The purpose of this study was to compare the utilization of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine (CAIM) therapies between US adults with and without cancer.

This investigation is based on publicly available data from the 2022 National Health Information Survey (NHIS). Descriptive statistics are presented for demographic characteristics, physical and mental health factors, and CAIM practices stratified by cancer status. Differences between groups were assessed using chi-squared tests, with significance defined by p < 0.05.

The study included 24,184 individuals without cancer and 3430 individuals with a self-reported history of any cancer type. The majority of participants were of non-Hispanic White racial-ethnic background, 54% were female, and those with cancer were found to be significantly older than those without. Approximately 18% of adults reported meditating during the past 12 months, and 15% practiced yoga; however, individuals with a history of cancer were significantly less likely to practice yoga than non-cases (p < 0.001). While cancer cases sought out practices for pain relief more frequently than non-cases, the utilization of these activities was < 5%.

Notably, fewer than 20% of US adults who completed the NHIS 2022 survey, regardless of cancer status, reported participating in CAIM practices within the prior year. While some may not find CAIM therapies beneficial or of interest, providing education to this population has the potential to better aid with symptom management. Future research should explore influencing factors for the adoption of these practices to quantify the impact of these modalities and uncover the potential epigenetic changes and biological mechanisms responsible for their effects, particularly among those diagnosed with cancer.