Table 4

Frequency of Utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Modalities According to Illness Classification

CAM categories and specific modalities
CFS-like
(n = 48)
Chronic Fatigue
(n = 327)
Prolonged Fatigue
(n = 53)
Non-fatigued
(n = 435)
Overall p-Value
p-Trend


n (%)
n (%)
n (%)
n (%)
n (%)


Body-based






     Chiropractic
12 (25.5)
57 (17.0)
10 (18.9)
39 (9.0)
.0004
.0001
     Massage
17 (36.2)
71 (21.2)
1 (22.6)
65 (14.9)
.002
.001







Alternative Medicine System






     Homeopathy
7 (15.2)
30 (9.1)
1 (1.9)
26 (6.0)
.03
.02







Mind-body






     Biofeedback
3 (6.4)
8 (2.4)
1 (1.9)
6 (1.4)
.12
.06
     Hypnosis
0 (0)
4 (1.2)
0 (0)
0 (0)
.11
--
     Image/visual
7 (14.9)
39 (11.8)
9 (17.0)
34 (7.9)
.07
.04
     Mindful exercise
4 (8.5)
27 (8.0)
5 (9.4)
23 (5.3)
.28
.11
     Personal prayer
35 (74.5)
226 (67.5)
36 (67.9)
252 (58.1)
.01
.002
     Prayer by others
23 (48.9)
114 (34.0)
12 (22.6)
92 (21.1)
<.0001
<.0001
     Relaxation
11 (23.4)
90 (26.9)
10 (19.2)
60 (13.8)
.0001
<.0001
     Self-Help
4 (8.5)
25 (7.5)
0 (0)
14 (3.2)
.01
.004







Biologically-based






     Diet supplements
8 (17.0)
47 (14.0)
2 (3.8)
50 (11.5)
.12
.17
     Herbal supplements
13 (27.7)
75 (22.4)
10 (18.9)
80 (18.4)
.30
.07
     Vitamins
5 (10.6)
28 (8.5)
5 (9.4)
28 (6.4)
.56
.27







Energy






     Acupuncture
1 (2.1)
8 (2.4)
2 (3.8)
5 (1.1)
.25
.21
     Energy healing
4 (8.5)
24 (7.2)
2 (3.8)
16 (3.7)
.10
.02

Due to missing values, percentages cannot be computed based on total subjects

Jones et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2007 7:12   doi:10.1186/1472-6882-7-12