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Honorary Senior Research
Fellow, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Correspondence to: Dr G T Lewith, University Medicine, Level D, Centre Block, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
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Introduction |
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In the UK there were 13 million visits to practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in 1981, a third of the number of visits made to general practitioners.1 The use of CAM has grown substantially over the last 10 years; between 1986 and 1991 the proportion of Which readers using CAM increased by 70%,2 and a more recent Which survey of 9000 readers in 1995 revealed that 25% had seen a CAM practitioner over the last year with 75% claiming benefit.3 Eisenberg et al noted a similar situation in the United States, estimating that the US public spent $13.7 billion out of pocket in 1990 on CAM,4 a figure no doubt substantially increased by recent interest. Similar data document the rise and importance of CAM in Australia to much the same levels of interest and expenditure as those in the USA and the UK.5
As yet we have no definite answers as to why people seek CAM.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  K. Lavery, B. O'Neill, J. S. Elborn, J. Reilly, and J. M. Bradley Self-management in bronchiectasis: the patients' perspective Eur. Respir. J., March 1, 2007; 29(3): 541 - 547. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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