Highlights
- •23% of older adults in the study used CAM, consistent with results from previous nationally representative samples.
- •Baby boomers were more likely than pre-boomers to report using CAM and among CAM users reported using more CAM modalities.
- •Prayer and spiritual practices was the only type of CAM modality used more by pre-boomers. This is consistent with research to date regarding prayer and aging.
- •Baby boomers' continued use of CAM for mental health care will necessitate a shift in our current models of care to older patients.
Objectives
To compare use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) across age cohorts.
Design
Secondary analysis of data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys.
Participants: Adults born in 1964 or earlier (N = 11,371). Over half (61.3%) are baby
boomers and 53% are female. Seventy-five percent of the sample is white, 10.2% African
American, 0.6% black Caribbean, 9.35% Latino, and 4.1% Asian.
Measurements
The dependent variable is a dichotomous variable indicating use of any CAM. The main
predictor of interest is age cohort categorized as pre-boomers (those born in 1945
or earlier) and baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964). Covariates include
the use of traditional service providers in the past 12 months and 12-month levels
of mood, anxiety, and substance disorder. Disorders were assessed with the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview.
Logistic regression was used to test the association between use of CAM and age cohort.
Results
Baby boomers were more likely than pre-boomers to report using CAM for a mental disorder.
Among identified CAM users, a higher proportion of baby boomers reported using most
individual CAM modalities. Prayer and spiritual practices was the only CAM used by
more pre-boomers.
Conclusions
Age cohort plays a significant role in shaping individual healthcare behaviors and
service use and may influence future trends in the use of CAM for behavioral health.
Healthcare providers need to be aware of patient use of CAM and communicate with them
about the pros and cons of alternative therapies.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 11, 2017
Accepted:
August 2,
2017
Received in revised form:
July 27,
2017
Received:
February 21,
2017
Footnotes
Presented in part at the 65th Annual Scientific Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America, San Diego, November 2012.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
