Military Veterans Likely Candidates for CAM Therapies

Military Veterans Likely Candidates for CAM Therapies

TUCSON, Ariz.--Conventional medical care practitioners shouldbe aware of unique experiences military veterans have with complementary andalternative medicine (CAM), according to a paper published in the Aug. 12 issueof the Archives of Internal Medicine (162:1697-704, 2002) (http://archinte.ama-assn.org).Researchers from the University of Arizona surveyed 508 military veterans fromthe Southern Arizona Veterans Administration Health Care System via a telephoneinterview. Of the subjects, nearly half (49.6 percent) reported CAM use and weremore likely to be non-Hispanic white, earn more than $50,000 per year and havemore than 12 years of education. High levels of daily stress, perceived negativeimpact of military life on physical or mental health, and physician-diagnosedchronic illness were statistically associated with CAM use. Researchersconcluded ethnicity, education, income and overseas military experiences weresignificant predictors of CAM use by this group of veterans.