PREVALENCE AND COST OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN AUSTRALIA

Background To determine the prevalence and cost of alternative medicin es and alternative practitioner use in an Australian population. Metho ds We conducted a representative population survey of persons aged 15 or older living in South Australia, which required 3004 personal inter views, We assessed the rates of use and types of alternative medicine and therapists used by this population in 1993, and correlations with other demographic and medical variables. Findings The overall use of a t least one non-medically prescribed alternative medicine (excluding c alcium, iron and prescribed vitamins) was 48.5%. The users were more l ikely to be perimenopausal females, better educated, have a higher alc ohol intake, be of normal weight and more likely to be employed than n on-users, 20.3% of respondents had visited at least one alternative pr actitioner, most commonly chiropractors (15%). The users of alternativ e practitioners were more likely to be younger, live in the country an d be overweight, Women were more likely to consult naturopaths, iridio logists, and reflexologists than men. Interpretation Extrapolation of the costs to the Australian population gives a natural expenditure in 1993, for alternative medicines, of $621 million (Australian dollars) and for alternative therapists of $AU309 million per annum. This compa res to the $AU360 million of patient contributions for all classes of pharmaceutical drugs purchased in Australia in 1992/93, The public hea lth and economic ramifications of these huge costs are questioned in v iew of the paucity of sound safety and efficacy data for many of the t herapies and products of the alternative medicine industry.