Table 2

Characteristics and Unadjusted Associations of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Use
Variable
 Study Population n = 1,305
 CAM Use n = 485 (37.2%)
 p value†

Number
 %
 Number
 %*
Gender



<0.01
     Male
 1,009
 77.3
 338
 33.5
     Female
 296
 22.7
 147
 49.7
Age (years)



0.99
     18–24
 300
 23.0
 114
 38.0
     25–31
 359
 27.5
 133
 37.1
     32–38
 345
 26.4
 126
 36.5
     39–57
 301
 23.1
 112
 37.2
Marital status



0.04
     Unmarried
 531
 40.7
 215
 40.5
     Married
 774
 59.3
 270
 34.9
Rank



<0.01
     Enlisted
 1,009
 77.3
 356
 35.3
     Officer
 296
 22.7
 129
 43.6
Service branch



<0.01
     Navy
 949
 72.7
 361
 38.0
     Navy, Reserve/Guard
 72
 5.5
 37
 30.6
     Marines
 284
 21.8
 87
 51.4
Occupational category



0.06
     Combat specialists
 285
 21.8
 107
 37.5
     Mechanical repair
 216
 16.6
 72
 35.3
     Administrative
 220
 16.9
 79
 45.6
     Electrical repair
 184
 14.1
 65
 38.3
     Communications and intelligence
 90
 6.9
 41
 65.2
     Health care
 128
 9.8
 49
 35.9
     Supply
 78
 6.0
 22
 33.3
     Craft workers
 33
 2.5
 13
 39.4
     Technical
 23
 1.8
 15
 28.2
     Students/trainees
 48
 3.7
 22
 45.8
Education level



0.02
     Some high school or diploma
 339
 26.0
 105
 31.0
     Some college
 611
 46.8
 235
 38.5
     College degree or higher
 355
 27.2
 145
 40.9
Race/ethnicity



<0.01
     White
 871
 66.7
 355
 40.8
     Black
 183
 14.0
 55
 24.4
     Hispanic
 119
 9.1
 29
 30.1
     Asian/Pacific Islander
 84
 6.4
 28
 33.3
     Other
 48
 3.7
 18
 37.5
Salary



0.49
     <$19,999
 245
 18.8
 90
 36.7
     $20,000–$34,999
 365
 28.0
 129
 35.3
     $35,000–$49,999
 275
 21.1
 96
 34.9
     $50,000–$74,999
 249
 19.1
 98
 39.4
     ≥$75,000
 171
 13.1
 72
 42.1
General health



0.19
     Very good or excellent
 911
 69.8
 327
 46.6
     Good
 336
 25.8
 131
 39.0
     Poor or fair
 58
 4.4
 27
 35.9
Number of days spent in bed due to illness or injury in past year (sick days)



<0.01
     None
 622
 47.7
 203
 32.6
     1–2
 435
 33.3
 165
 37.9
     3–7
 181
 13.9
 81
 44.8
     ≥8
 67
 5.1
 36
 53.7
Body pain in past 4 weeks



<0.01
     None/very mild
 763
 58.5
 256
 33.6
     Mild
 306
 23.5
 111
 36.3
     Moderate/severe
 236
 18.1
 118
 50.0
Level of satisfaction with physician



<0.01
     Very
 607
 46.5
 198
 44.2
     Somewhat
 510
 39.1
 204
 40.0
     Not very or not at all
 188
 14.4
 83
 32.6
Level of trust in physician



0.12
     Completely or a lot
 680
 52.1
 261
 38.4
     Some
 395
 30.3
 131
 33.2
     Little or not at all
 230
 17.6
 93
 40.4
Addiction to alcohol or drugs in the last year



0.16
     No
 1,286
 98.5
 475
 36.9
     Yes
 19
 1.5
 10
 52.6
Obesity in the last year



0.29
     No
 1,243
 95.2
 458
 36.9
     Yes
 62
 4.8
 27
 43.6

* Indicates the prevalence of CAM use among that subgroup of the population.

† p value based on an unadjusted chi-square test of association.

Smith et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2007 7:16   doi:10.1186/1472-6882-7-16