Perceived benefit of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for back pain: a national survey.

BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonly used to treat back pain, but little is known about factors associated with improvement. METHODS: We used data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey to examine the associations between the perceived helpfulness of various CAM therapies for back pain. RESULTS: Approximately 6% of the US population used CAM to treat their back pain in 2002. Sixty percent of respondents who used CAM for back pain perceived a "great deal" of benefit. Using multivariable logistic regression, the factor associated with perceived benefit from CAM modalities was reporting that a reason for using CAM was that "conventional medical treatment would not help" (odds ratio [OR], 1.46; 95% CI, 1.14-1.86). The 2 factors associated with less perceived benefit from CAM modalities were fair to poor self-reported health status (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.41-0.82) and referral by a conventional medical practitioner for CAM (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.54-0.92). Using chiropractic as a reference, massage (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.46-0.83), relaxation techniques (OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.14-0.45), and herbal therapy (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.19-0.46) were all associated with less perceived benefit whereas those with similar perceived benefit included yoga/tai chi/qi gong (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.41-1.22) and acupuncture (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.37-1.38). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of respondents who used CAM for back pain perceived benefit. Specific factors and therapies associated with perceived benefit warrant further investigation.

Injury thresholds after motor vehicle crash--important factors for patient triage and vehicle design.

INTRODUCTION: The Committee on Trauma recommends that older motor vehicle crash (MVC) victims or victims of crashes with significant vehicle intrusion of more than 12 in. be transferred to a trauma center since those older than 55 have an increased risk of death after injury. Yet, the precise injury thresholds as they relate to age, gender and velocity remain ill-defined. To maintain a low rate of under triage, reliable methods to identify patients at moderate injury risk are needed. We therefore characterized the likelihood of moderate to severe injury in MVC victims to determine the influence of age, gender and velocity. METHODS: An analysis of drivers from the National Automotive Sampling System (1993-2001) was performed. Weighted logistic regression models were developed to predict the probability of head, leg, and torso injuries as a function of vehicle speed, age, and gender while controlling for confounders. A 10% probability of injury threshold was set and differences in velocity, gender and age were identified in terms of reaching this probability of injury threshold. RESULTS: The analysis yielded 56,459 drivers which is equivalent to a population of 28,877,696 drivers nationwide. Restraint use, steering away prior to impact, breaking maneuver, gender, delta velocity, driver height and age were independent predictors of injury. Women had a higher velocity injury threshold than men for the 10% probability of injury cut-off to the torso or head which disappeared with increasing age. Conversely, men had a higher velocity injury threshold than women for the 10% probability of injury cut-off to the extremity which persisted even in older victims. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that age and gender must be considered in addition to crash velocity when making triage decisions. Furthermore, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards may need to be modified to address the increased risk of injury among older adults at lower velocities given the increasing number of elderly drivers in the US.

Acculturation and cardiovascular risk factor control among Hispanic adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine whether low acculturation, based on language measures, leads to disparities in cardiovascular risk factor control in U.S. Hispanic adults. METHODS: We studied 4729 Hispanic adults aged 18 to 85 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004. We examined the association between acculturation and control of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and hemoglobin A1c based on national guidelines among participants with hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and diabetes, respectively. We used weighted logistic regression adjusting for age, gender, and education. We then examined health insurance, having a usual source of care, body mass index, fat intake, and leisure-time physical activity as potential mediators. RESULTS: Among participants with hypercholesterolemia, Hispanic adults with low acculturation were significantly more likely to have poorly controlled LDL cholesterol than Hispanic adults with high acculturation after multivariable adjustment (odds ratio [OR] = 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2, 9.5). Insurance status mildly attenuated the difference in LDL cholesterol control. After adjusting for diet and physical activity, the magnitude of the association increased. Other covariates had little influence on the observed relationship. Among those with diabetes and hypertension, we did not observe statistically significant associations between low acculturation and control of hemoglobin A1c (OR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.2, 1.2), and blood pressure (OR = 1.1, 95% CI 0.6, 1.7), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Low levels of acculturation may be associated with increased risk of inadequate LDL cholesterol control among Hispanic adults with hypercholesterolemia. Further studies should examine the mechanisms by which low acculturation might adversely impact lipid control among Hispanic adults in the U.S.

Association between language and risk factor levels among Hispanic adults with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or diabetes.

BACKGROUND: The association of acculturation and cardiovascular risk factor control among populations with high proportions of immigrants has not been well studied. METHODS: We studied 1,492 Hispanic participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and/or diabetes. We used linear regression to examine the cross-sectional relationships between acculturation measures and cardiovascular risk factor levels. Outcome measures included systolic blood pressure (mm Hg), fasting low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (mg/dL), and fasting blood glucose (mg/dL). Covariates included education, income, health insurance, physical activity, dietary factors, risk factor-specific medication use, duration of medication use, smoking, and body mass index. RESULTS: There were 580 Hispanics with hypertension, 539 with hypercholesterolemia, and 248 with diabetes. After adjustment for age and gender, Spanish-speaking Hispanics with cardiovascular risk factors had higher systolic blood pressure, fasting LDL cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose compared to English-speaking Hispanics. Differences in systolic blood pressure were accounted for mainly by education, whereas differences in LDL cholesterol were almost entirely accounted for by cholesterol-lowering medication use. Differences in fasting glucose were partly accounted for by socioeconomic variables but were augmented after adjustment for dietary factors. Similar associations were observed between proportion of life in the United States and risk factor levels. CONCLUSIONS: Among those with cardiovascular risk factors, Hispanics who spoke Spanish at home and lived less time in the United States had worse control of cardiovascular risk factors. Treatment strategies that focus on Hispanics with low levels of acculturation may improve cardiovascular risk factor control.

An overview of practical approaches for handling missing data in clinical trials.

For a variety of reasons including poorly designed case report forms (CRFs), incomplete or invalid CRF data entries, and premature treatment or study discontinuations, missing data is a common phenomenon in controlled clinical trials. With the widely accepted use of the intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis dataset as the primary analysis dataset for the analysis of controlled clinical trial data, the presence of missing data could lead to complicated data analysis strategies and subsequently to controversy in the interpretation of trial results. In this article, we review the mechanisms of missing data and some common approaches to analyzing missing data with an emphasis on study dropouts. We discuss the importance of understanding the reasons for study dropouts with ways to assess the mechanisms of missingness. Finally, we discuss the results of a comparative Monte Carlo investigation of the performance characteristics of commonly utilized statistical methods for the analysis of clinical trial data with dropouts. The methods investigated include the mixed effects model for repeated measurements (MMRM), weighted and unweighted generalized estimating equations (GEE) method for the available case data, multiple-imputation-based GEE (MI-GEE), complete case (CC) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and last observation carried forward (LOCF) ANCOVA. Simulation experiments for the repeated measures model with missing at random (MAR) dropout, under varying dropout rates and intrasubject correlation, show that the LOCF, ANCOVA, and weighted GEE methods perform poorly in terms of percent relative bias for estimating a difference in means effect, while the MI-GEE and weighted GEE methods both have less power for rejecting a zero difference in means hypothesis.

Japanese-style acupuncture for endometriosis-related pelvic pain in adolescents and young women: results of a randomized sham-controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess feasibility, and collect preliminary data for a subsequent randomized, sham-controlled trial to evaluate Japanese-style acupuncture for reducing chronic pelvic pain and improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adolescents with endometriosis. DESIGN: Randomized, sham-controlled trial. SETTINGS: Tertiary-referral hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen young women (13-22y) with laparoscopically-diagnosed endometriosis-related chronic pelvic pain. INTERVENTIONS: A Japanese style of acupuncture and a sham acupuncture control. Sixteen treatments were administered over 8 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Protocol feasibility, recruitment numbers, pain not associated with menses or intercourse, and multiple HRQOL instruments including Endometriosis Health Profile, Pediatric Quality of Life, Perceived Stress, and Activity Limitation. RESULTS: Fourteen participants (out of 18 randomized) completed the study per protocol. Participants in the active acupuncture group (n = 9) experienced an average 4.8 (SD = 2.4) point reduction on a 11 point scale (62%) in pain after 4 weeks, which differed significantly from the control group's (n = 5) average reduction of 1.4 (SD = 2.1) points (P = 0.004). Reduction in pain in the active group persisted through a 6-month assessment; however, after 4 weeks, differences between the active and control group decreased and were not statistically significant. All HRQOL measures indicated greater improvements in the active acupuncture group compared to the control; however, the majority of these trends were not statistically significant. No serious adverse events were reported. CONCLUSION: Preliminary estimates indicate that Japanese-style acupuncture may be an effective, safe, and well-tolerated adjunct therapy for endometriosis-related pelvic pain in adolescents. A more definitive trial evaluating Japanese-style acupuncture in this population is both feasible and warranted.

Acupuncture for treatment of persistent arm pain due to repetitive use: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare true and sham acupuncture in their abilities to relieve arm pain and improve arm function in individuals with arm pain due to repetitive use. METHODS: Participants with persistent arm pain (N=123) were randomly assigned to true or sham acupuncture groups and received 8 treatments over 4 weeks. The primary outcome was intensity of pain (10-point scale) and secondary outcomes were arm symptoms, arm function, and grip strength. Outcomes were measured during treatment (at 2 and 4 wk) and 1 month after treatment ended. RESULTS: Arm pain scores improved in both groups during the treatment period, but improvements were significantly greater in the sham group than in the true acupuncture group. This difference disappeared by 1 month after treatment ended. The true acupuncture group experienced more side effects, predominantly mild pain at time of treatments. DISCUSSION: Sham acupuncture reduced arm pain more than true acupuncture during treatment, but the difference did not persist after 1 month. Mild side effects from true acupuncture may have blunted any positive treatment effects. Overall, this study did not find evidence to support the effectiveness of true acupuncture in treatment of persistent arm pain due to repetitive use.

The association of language with prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension among older Mexican Americans.

OBJECTIVE: Language barriers have been shown to negatively impact health care for immigrants. We evaluated the association between language use and the diagnosis of hypertension among elderly Mexican Americans. STUDY POPULATION: We studied subjects from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, a cohort of 3050 Mexican American subjects age > or =65. PREDICTORS: Measures of language included Spanish and/or English language read/spoken, language used in social situations, and language of mass media use. OUTCOME MEASURE: Undiagnosed hypertension on physical exam was defined as systolic blood pressure > or =140 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure > or =90 mm Hg in persons who did not report previous hypertension diagnosis or were not current users of anti-hypertensive medications. RESULTS: The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed hypertension and undiagnosed hypertension were 50.5% and 19.3%, respectively. Among 1347 older adults without previous diagnosis of hypertension that were included in the primary analysis, the mean age was 72 years and 43% were immigrants. After adjusting for age, gender, and education, Spanish use more often than English use in mass media was significantly associated with undiagnosed hypertension (adjusted OR 2.2 [1.3-3.6]). Other measures of acculturation were not independently associated with undiagnosed hypertension. In analyses restricted to persons with hypertension, similar language factors distinguished those who had been diagnosed from those whose hypertension was undiagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: Mexican American elders who reported using Spanish more often than English use in mass media were more likely to have undiagnosed hypertension compared to those using English language in mass media. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of mass media language in hypertension awareness and management among Hispanic elders.

Factors associated with herbal therapy use by adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the patterns of herbal therapy use among adults in the United States and to describe factors associated with herb use. DESIGN: We examined the use of natural herbs from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). We analyzed factors associated with herb use and reasons for herb use with logistic regression. RESULTS: Factors associated with herb use include the following: age (45-64 years old), being uninsured, being female, having a higher education, living in the West, using prescription medications or over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and self-identified as "non-Hispanic other." Factors associated with no herb use include being non-Hispanic black and living in the South or Midwest. Seventy-two percent of those who used herbs used prescription medications, and 84% of those who used herbs also used an OTC medication in the prior 12 months. Among adults who used herbs, the most commonly mentioned were echinacea (41%), ginseng (25%), gingko (22%), and garlic (20%). The most frequent conditions for herb use were head or chest cold (30%), musculoskeletal conditions (16%), and stomach or intestinal illness (11%). Among those who used herbs in the prior year, factors associated with using herbs because conventional medical treatments were too expensive included being uninsured, having poor health, and being 25-44 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly 1 in 5 people in the US population report using an herb for treatment of health conditions and/or health promotion. More than half did not disclose this information to a conventional medical professional.

Acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced leukopenia: exploratory meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Chemotherapy-induced leukopenia and neutropenia are common side effects during cancer treatment. Acupuncture has been reported as an adjunct therapy for this complication. The current study reviewed published randomized controlled trials of acupuncture's effect and explored the acupuncture parameters used in these trials. We searched biomedical databases in English and Chinese from 1979 to 2004. The study populations were cancer patients who were undergoing or had just completed chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, randomized to either acupuncture therapy or usual care. The methodologic quality of trials was assessed. From 33 reviewed articles, 682 patients from 11 eligible trials were included in analyses. All trials were published in non-PubMed journals from China. The methodologic quality of these trials was considerably poor. The median sample size of each comparison group was 45, and the median trial duration was 21 days. The frequency of acupuncture treatment was once a day, with a median of 16 sessions in each trial. In the seven trials in which white blood cell (WBC) counts were available, acupuncture use was associated with an increase in leukocytes in patients during chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, with a weighted mean difference of 1,221 WBC/muL on average (95% confidence interval 636-1,807; p < .0001). Acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced leukopenia is an intriguing clinical question. However, the inferior quality and publication bias present in these studies may lead to a false-positive estimation. Meta-analysis based on these published trials should be treated in an exploratory nature only.

Addition of choice of complementary therapies to usual care for acute low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

STUDY DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness and cost of usual care plus patient choice of acupuncture, chiropractic, or massage therapy (choice) compared with usual care alone in patients with acute low back pain (LBP). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Few studies have evaluated care models with facilitated access to and financial coverage for adjunctive complementary and alternative medicine therapies. METHODS: A total of 444 patients with acute LBP (<21 days) were recruited from 4 clinical sites and randomized into 2 groups: usual care or choice. Outcomes included symptoms (bothersomeness), functional status (Roland), and satisfaction between baseline and 5 weeks, and cost of medical care in the 12 weeks after randomization. RESULTS: After 5 weeks, providing patients with a choice did not yield clinically important reductions in symptoms (median -4, [interquartile range -7, -2] for usual care, and -5 [-7, -3] for choice; P = 0.002) or improvements in functional status (-8 [-13, -2] for usual care, and -9 [-15, -4] for choice; P = 0.15). Although there was a significantly greater satisfaction with care in the choice group, this came at a net increase in costs of 244 dollars per patient. This consisted of a 99 dollars reduction in the average cost to the insurer for medical care but an additional cost of 343 dollars, for an average of 6.0 complementary and alternative medicine treatments per patient. CONCLUSIONS: A model of care that offered access to a choice of complementary and alternative medicine therapies for acute LBP did not result in clinically significant improvements in symptom relief or functional restoration. This model was associated with greater patient satisfaction but increased total costs. Future evaluations of this choice model should focus on patients with chronic conditions (including chronic back pain) for which conventional medical care is often costly and of limited benefit.

Factors associated with dietary supplement use among prescription medication users.

BACKGROUND: We examined the patterns of nonvitamin dietary supplement (NVDS) use among adult prescription medication users in the United States. METHODS: Using the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, we analyzed factors associated with NVDS use and prescription medication use in the prior 12 months with descriptive, chi(2), and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: In the United States, 21% of adult prescription medication users reported using NVDSs in the prior 12 months. Of the respondents who used both prescription medications and NVDSs in the prior 12 months, 69% did not discuss this use with a conventional medical practitioner. Among adults who used prescription medications in the prior 12 months, the most commonly used supplements included echinacea, ginseng, ginkgo, garlic, and glucosamine chondroitin. Prescription medication users with menopause and chronic gastrointestinal disorders had the highest rates of NVDS use (33% and 28%, respectively), and prescription medication users with coronary heart disease and history of myocardial infarction had the lowest rates of use (12% each). In the adjusted analysis, factors associated with increased use of NVDSs by prescription medication users included being female, being Hispanic, having more years of education, living in the West, lacking medical insurance, and having chronic conditions. Elderly respondents were less likely to use NVDSs. CONCLUSION: One in 4 prescription medication users took an NVDS in the prior 12 months, yet the majority did not share this with a conventional medical professional.

Decision-making and outcomes in severe symptomatic aortic stenosis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Aortic stenosis (AS) remains the most common valvular disease of the elderly in the United States. Though valve replacement has proven effective among older adults, decision-making regarding surgery is difficult for these patients and their physicians. Herein, the clinical outcomes and decision-making process for elderly patients with severe symptomatic AS was assessed. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients aged > or = 60 years with severe AS was conducted at two large urban teaching hospitals. Severe AS was defined by a mean valve gradient > or = 50 mmHg or valve area < 0.8 cm2 by echocardiogram, and associated symptoms (angina, congestive heart failure, dyspnea, fatigue, or exercise intolerance). Demographic and clinical data and information about decision-making were obtained from inpatient and outpatient medical records. RESULTS: Of the 124 patients studied, 49 (39.5%) had aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery. In a logistic regression analysis adjusting for gender, comorbidity and baseline functional status, those patients aged < 80 years were significantly more likely to have surgery than older patients. Surgery was associated with a large reduction in mortality in all age groups. At one-year follow up, 87.8% of all patients (87.5% of those aged > or = 80 years) who had undergone surgery were alive, while only 54.7% (49.1% of those aged > or = 80 years) who did not receive surgery were alive. Postoperative complications were similar among older and younger elderly patients. Comorbidity and age were the most common reasons for not offering elderly patients valve replacement. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study showed that AVR surgery improves the survival of elderly patients with severe AS, and patients aged > 80 years experience benefits similar to younger patients. Nevertheless, these findings suggest that surgery may not always be offered to elderly patients who might benefit from it.

Predicting severe head injury after light motor vehicle crashes: implications for automatic crash notification systems.

Motor vehicle crashes (MVC) are a leading public health problem. Improving notification times and the ability to predict which crashes will involve severe injuries may improve trauma system utilization. This study was undertaken to develop and validate a model to predict severe head injury following MVC using information readily incorporated into an automatic crash notification system. A cross-sectional study with derivation and validation sets was performed. The cohort was drawn from drivers of vehicles involved in MVC obtained from the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS). Independent multivariable predictors of severe head injury were identified. The model was able to stratify drivers according to their risk of severe head injury indicating its validity. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were 0.7928 in the derivation set and 0.7940 in the validation set. We have developed a prediction model for head injury in MVC. As the development of automatic crash notification systems improves, models such as this one will be necessary to permit triage of what would be an overwhelming increase in crash notifications to pre-hospital responders.

Investigating placebo effects in irritable bowel syndrome: a novel research design.

Little is known about placebo effects with scientific precision. Poor methodology has confounded our understanding of the magnitude and even the existence of the placebo effect. Investigating placebo effects presents special research challenges including: the design of appropriate controls for studying placebo effects including separating such effects from natural history and regression to the mean, the need for large sample sizes to capture expected small effects, and the need to understand such potential effects from a patient's perspective. This article summarizes the methodology of an ongoing NIH-funded randomized controlled trial aimed at investigating whether the placebo effect in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) exists and whether the magnitude of such an effect can be manipulated to vary in a manner analogous to "dose dependence." The trial also uses an innovative combination of quantitative and qualitative methods.

Complementary and alternative medical therapy use among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans: prevalence, associated factors, and effects of patient-clinician communication.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the use of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who had limited proficiency with the English language and explore the association between patient-clinician discussions about CAM therapy use and patient assessments of quality of care. METHODS: We surveyed Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who visited 11 community health centers in 8 major cities throughout the United States. RESULTS: Of the 4410 patients surveyed, 3258 (74%) returned completed questionnaires. Two thirds of respondents reported they had "ever used" some form of CAM therapy; however, only 7.6% of these patients had discussed their use of CAM therapies with clinicians. Among patients who had used CAM therapies during the week before their most recent visits, clinician-patient discussions about CAM therapy use were associated with better overall patient ratings of quality of care. CONCLUSION: Use of CAM therapies was common among Chinese and Vietnamese Americans who had limited proficiency with the English language. Although discussions about CAM therapy use with clinicians were uncommon, these discussions were associated with better ratings of quality of care.

Interpreter services, language concordance, and health care quality. Experiences of Asian Americans with limited English proficiency.

BACKGROUND: Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) have more difficulty communicating with health care providers and are less satisfied with their care than others. Both interpreter- and language-concordant clinicians may help overcome these problems but few studies have compared these approaches. OBJECTIVE: To compare self-reported communication and visit ratings for LEP Asian immigrants whose visits involve either a clinic interpreter or a clinician speaking their native language. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey-response rate 74%. PATIENTS: Two thousand seven hundred and fifteen LEP Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant adults who received care at 11 community-based health centers across the U.S. MEASUREMENTS: Five self-reported communication measures and overall rating of care. RESULTS: Patients who used interpreters were more likely than language-concordant patients to report having questions about their care (30.1% vs 20.9%, P<.001) or about mental health (25.3% vs 18.2%, P=.005) they wanted to ask but did not. They did not differ significantly in their response to 3 other communication measures or their likelihood of rating the health care received as "excellent" or "very good" (51.7% vs 50.9%, P=.8). Patients who rated their interpreters highly ("excellent" or "very good") were more likely to rate the health care they received highly (adjusted odds ratio 4.8, 95% confidence interval, 2.3 to 10.1). CONCLUSIONS: Assessments of communication and health care quality for outpatient visits are similar for LEP Asian immigrants who use interpreters and those whose clinicians speak their language. However, interpreter use may compromise certain aspects of communication. The perceived quality of the interpreter is strongly associated with patients' assessments of quality of care overall.

Development of a Chinese medicine assessment measure: an interdisciplinary approach using the delphi method.

BACKGROUND: The diagnostic framework and clinical reasoning process in Chinese medicine emphasizes the contextual and qualitative nature of a patient's illness. Chinese medicine assessment data may help interpret clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVES: As part of a study aimed at assessing the validity and improving the inter-rater reliability of the Chinese diagnostic process, a structured assessment instrument was developed for use in clinical trials of acupuncture and other Chinese medical therapies. STUDY DESIGN: To foster collaboration and maximize resources and information, an interdisciplinary advisory team was assembled. Under the guidance of two group process facilitators, and in order to establish whether the assessment instrument was consistent with accepted Chinese medicine diagnostic categories (face validity) and included the full range of each concept's meaning (content validity), a panel of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) expert clinicians was convened and their responses were organized using the Delphi process, an iterative, anonymous, idea-generating and consensus-building process. An aggregate rating measure was obtained by taking the mean of mean ratings for each question across all 10 experts. RESULTS: Over three rounds, the overall rating increased from 7.4 (SD = 1.3) in Round 1 to 9.1 (SD = 0.5) in Round 3. The level of agreement among clinicians was measured by a decrease in SD. CONCLUSIONS: The final instrument TEAMSI-TCM (Traditional East Asian Medicine Structured Interview, TCM version) uses the pattern differentiation model characteristic of TCM. This modular, dynamic version was specifically designed to assess women, with a focus on gynecologic conditions; with modifications it can be adapted for use with other populations and conditions. TEAMSI-TCM is a prescriptive instrument that guides clinicians to use the proper indicators, combine them in a systematic manner, and generate conclusions. In conjunction with treatment manualization and training it may serve to increase inter-rater reliability and inter-trial reproducibility in Chinese medicine clinical trials. Testing of the validity and reliability of this instrument currently is underway.

Health care expenditures associated with overweight and obesity among US adults: importance of age and race.

OBJECTIVES: We estimated health care expenditures associated with overweight and obesity and examined the influence of age, race, and gender. METHODS: Using 1998 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data, we employed 2-stage modeling to estimate annual health care expenditures associated with high body mass index (BMI) and examine interactions between demographic factors and BMI. RESULTS: Overall, the mean per capita annual health care expenditure (converted to December 2003 dollars) was $3338 before adjustment. While the adjusted expenditure was $2127 (90% confidence interval [CI]=$1927, $2362) for a typical normal-weight White woman aged 35 to 44 years, expenditures were $2358 (90% CI=$2128, $2604) for women with BMIs of 25 to 29.9 kg/m(2), $2873 (90% CI=$2530, $3236) for women with BMIs of 30 to 34.9 kg/m(2), $3058 (90% CI=$2529, $3630) for women with BMIs of 35 to 39.9 kg/m(2), and $3506 (90% CI=$2912, $4228) for women with BMIs of 40 kg/m(2) or higher. Expenditures related to higher BMI rose dramatically among White and older adults but not among Blacks or those younger than 35 years. We found no interaction between BMI and gender. CONCLUSIONS: Health care costs associated with overweight and obesity are substantial and vary according to race and age.

Prayer for health concerns: results of a national survey on prevalence and patterns of use.

BACKGROUND: Prayer is a common practice in the United States, yet little is known about the prevalence and patterns of use of prayer for health concerns. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and patterns of use of prayer for health concerns. METHODS: We conducted a national survey in 1998 (N = 2055, 60% weighted response rate) on use of prayer. Data were also collected on sociodemographics, use of conventional medicine, and use of complementary and alternative medical therapies. Factors associated with the use of prayer were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: We found that 35% of respondents used prayer for health concerns; 75% of these prayed for wellness, and 22% prayed for specific medical conditions. Of those praying for specific medical conditions, 69% found prayer very helpful. Factors independently associated with increased use of prayer (P<.05) included age older than 33 years (age 34-53 years: odds ratio [OR], 1.6 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3-2.1]; age > or =54 years: OR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.1-2.0]); female sex (OR, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.1-1.7]); education beyond high school (OR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.2-1.8]); and having depression, chronic headaches, back and/or neck pain, digestive problems, or allergies. Only 11% of respondents using prayer discussed it with their physicians. CONCLUSIONS: An estimated one third of adults used prayer for health concerns in 1998. Most respondents did not discuss prayer with their physicians. Prayer was used frequently for common medical conditions, and users reported high levels of perceived helpfulness.