Results of a new study do not support the notion that people who use complementary or alternative medicine (a.k.a., CAM) are less apt to use conventional “evidence-based” medical and preventive care services. On the contrary, it seems they are more apt to use conventional medical services.

In a survey of 2,474 adult diabetics, Drs. Donald Garrow and Leonard E. Egede from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston found that nearly half (48 percent) reported using some form of CAM therapy such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, dietary or herbal therapy, or massage and relaxation therapy.

Given that there were roughly 15 million US adults with diabetes at the time of the survey, that means that roughly 7 million were using CAM therapies, the authors note in the journal Diabetes Care.

There has been “a dramatic increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicine among individuals with diabetes in recent years,” said Egede.

Somewhat to Egede’s and Garrow’s surprise, CAM use was independently associated with an increased likelihood of getting a pneumonia vaccination and of visiting the emergency room or a primary care doctor.

This suggests that CAM use in adults with diabetes may not be a barrier to use of preventive care services or use of conventional medical services.

“It appears,” Egede said, “that those who use alternative therapies want more autonomy in making health care decisions and are willing to try alternative therapies as adjunct to conventional medicines.”

CAM users in the study were typically younger, employed, more educated, and had higher incomes than non-CAM users and therefore may be more likely to afford alternative therapies in addition to their conventional medical treatments, the researchers note.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, January 2006.