P04.42. Use of complementary and alternative medicine among adults with neuro-psychiatric symptoms common to mild traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Purpose One in three adults uses complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) annually in the United States. However, the pattern of CAM use among adults with neuropsychia-tric symptoms commonly reported by patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), a serious public health con-cern, is not well studied. Methods We analyzed data from the 2007 National Health Inter-view Survey (n=23,393) to compare CAM use between adults with and without neuropsychiatric symptoms com-mon to mTBI. Symptoms included self-reported anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches, memory deficits, atten-tional deficits, and excessive sleepiness. CAM use was defined as use of mind-body (e.g., meditation), biological (e.g., herbs), manipulation (e.g., massage) therapies, and alternative medical systems (e.g., Ayurveda), within the past 12 months. We estimated prevalence and reasons for CAM use in patients with and without neuropsychiatric symptoms. We also explored variations in CAM use by the number of symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to examine the association between neu-ropsychiatric symptoms and CAM use after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, illness burden (e.g,. fibromyalgia, low back pain), access to care, and health habits. Results Adults with neuropsychiatric symptoms had higher CAM use compared to adults without neuropsychiatric symp-toms (44% vs. 30%, p<0.001); prevalence increased with increasing number of symptoms (p-value for trend <0.001, table below). Differences persisted after adjustment (table below). Twenty percent used CAM because standard treatments were either too expensive or ineffective; 25% used CAM because it was recommended by a provider. Conclusion More than 40% of adults with neuropsychiatric symptoms observed in mTBI used CAM. An increasing number of symptoms was associated with increased use. Future research is needed to understand the use, efficacy, and safety of CAM in mTBI patients. Cite this article as: Purohit et al.: P04.42. Use of complementary and alternative medicine among adults with neuro-psychiatric symptoms common to mild traumatic brain injury. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 12(Suppl 1):P312.