WebMD Medical News Louise Chang, MD Dec. 10, 2008 -- Thirty-
eight percent of adults and 12% of children use complementary
and alternative medicine, new data from a nationwide government
The survey marks the first time information on the use of
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by children has
been collected at the national Researchers with the National
Institutes of Health and the CDC asked more than 23,000 adults
about their use and 9,400 adults about their children’s use of
36 non-vitamin or mineral CAM therapies, including herbal
supplements, acupuncture, visits to chiropractors, massage
therapy, mediation, and even “I think this study highlights the
growing acceptance of many of these therapies,” pediatrician
Kathi Kemper, MD, MPH, of Wake Forest University School of
Medicine, tells WebMD. Author of the book, The Holistic
Pediatrician, Kemper says many treatments considered alternative
just a few years ago, including probiotics for gastrointestinal
complaints, are now widely recommended for chi