Depressed Women Turn to CAM

A slight majority of U.S. women turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), including massage, when faced with depression, according to a new study.

"Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among Women With Depression: Results of a National Survey" was published in the March issue of Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association.

The study, according to a Psychiatric Services press release, examined patterns of and reasons for use of CAM among women with depression, focusing in particular on three popular types of CAM:  manual therapies, including chiropractic, massage and acupressure; herbs; and vitamins.

The sample consisted of 220 women with depression who were assessed as part of a nationally representative telephone survey of 3,068 women.

Fifty-four percent of these women with depression reported past-year use of CAM. Among the results:

• African-American women were less likely to use CAM in general, compared with non-Hispanic white women.

• Other factors significantly associated with use of CAM in general included being employed, being single, and having self-perceived poor health.

• Participants' most commonly cited reasons for use of these therapies were wanting treatments to be based on a "natural approach," wanting treatments to be congruent with their own values and beliefs, and past experiences in which conventional medical therapies had caused unpleasant side effects or had seemed ineffective.