Prevalence of Selected Complementary Health Approaches High in Seniors

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By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com

via HealthDay

THURSDAY, April 30, 2026 -- Use of selected complementary health approaches (CHA) is high among older adults, according to a study published online April 24 in the American Journal of Medicine.

Dennis Muñoz-Vergara, D.V.M., M.P.H., from the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted cross-sectional analyses of the COSMOS Study 2024 survey, which asked participants about their use of and interest in CHA: manual therapies, mind-body therapies, herbal products, acupuncture, spiritual practices, and cannabis/psychedelics. Key baseline sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics were compared between CHA users and nonusers overall and for each category.

Of the 16,144 respondents (median age, 77.5 years), 58.8 percent indicated using CHA at least once in the past 12 months and 76.4 percent reported ever in lifetime use; 50.4 percent reported interest in participating in CHA research. The researchers found the highest prevalence of recent use and lifetime use for spiritual practices (38.6 percent) and manual therapies (51.9 percent), respectively. Higher odds of recent and lifetime CHA use were seen in association with a history of falls or depression.

"There may be a disconnect between what patients are doing and what health care providers realize," senior author Howard D. Sesso, Sc.D., M.P.H., also from the Osher Center, said in a statement. "Patients often seek to supplement their doctors' recommended treatments. I hope this study opens the eyes of the health care community to talk to their patients about complementary and integrative health modalities."

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-05-01 02:14

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