ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2010
Who Uses CAM? A Narrative Review of Demographic Characteristics and Health Factors Associated with CAM Use.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 159 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
159 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Shining a Light on Selenium: a Meta-analysis of Supplementation in Multiple Sclerosis.Biological trace element research · 2024Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Amongst Ethnic Minority Populations: A Focus Upon Prevalence, Drivers, Integrative Use, Health Outcomes, Referrals and Use of Information Sources.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2019Pooled it
- Complementary medicine use by the Australian population: a critical mixed studies systematic review of utilisation, perceptions and factors associated with use.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2016Pooled it
- Complementary medicine use by men with prostate cancer: a systematic review of prevalence studies.Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases · 2011Pooled it
- Interest in complementary and alternative medicine among participants in a study on cancer prevention by green tea extract - results from an expert-based survey of MIRACLE trial participants.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Effects of Ayurvedic Oil-Dripping Treatment with Sesame Oil vs. with Warm Water on Sleep: A Randomized Single-Blinded Crossover Pilot Study.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2016Trial
- Stakeholder priorities for advancing integrative oncology across a pluralistic health system: a qualitative study from Singapore.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Ficto-Primitive Capital: What Wellness Seekers Gain From Practicing Shamanism and Other Healing Traditions.The British journal of sociology · 2026Article
- Profile of migraine patients in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: a multi-center study.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Article
- Article
- Contemplative practices serve as complementary mental health strategies in nationally representative samples from Australia and New Zealand.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Examining the use of complementary and alternative medicine among older persons in Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria: a qualitative study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Dietary and non-dietary complementary and alternative medicine use in Saudi Arabia: the differential role of associated factors.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Oncology: A Concise Review of Utilization, Evidence, and Integration Challenges.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Experiences and perspectives of Ayurvedic practitioners on non-communicable disease management in the UK: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Traditional, complementary and integrative health within universal systems: a transdisciplinary integrative approach to chronic conditions in the Brazilian SUS.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Treatments for COVID-19 and acute respiratory infections are associated with gender and comorbidities in an Italian online survey.PloS one · 2026Article
- Analysis of adverse event reports associated with complementary health products in Singapore from 2017 to 2023.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Provider and patient perceptions of traditional Chinese medicine service pricing reform: evidence from Northeast China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
99 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) are used by an extensive number of patients in the UK and elsewhere. In order to understand this pattern of behavior, it is helpful to examine the characteristics of people who use CAM. This narrative review collates and evaluates the evidence concerning the demographic characteristics and health status factors associated with CAM use in community-based non-clinical populations. A systematic literature search of computerized databases was conducted, and published research papers which present evidence concerning associations between CAM use and demographic and health characteristics are discussed and evaluated. The evidence suggests that people who use CAM tend to be female, of middle age and have more education. In terms of their health, CAM users tend to have more than one medical condition, but might not be more likely than non-users to have specific conditions such as cancer or to rate their own general health as poor. The multivariate studies that have been conducted suggest that both demographic and health characteristics contribute independently to CAM use. In conclusion, demographic characteristics and factors related to an individual's health status are associated with CAM use. Future research is needed to address methodological limitations in existing studies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.